


When Shadows Fall

by Jude_Rigby



Series: Beware Of Darkness [7]
Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Crime, Drama, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:40:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 85,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28364040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jude_Rigby/pseuds/Jude_Rigby
Summary: When the victim in their latest case is someone they know, Castle and Beckett begin investigating and uncover workplace rivals, past lovers and secrets from the vic's past while trying to find the killer. At the same time the case brings Castle, Beckett and Julia closer together as a family. Seventh in the Beware of Darkness series.
Relationships: Kate Beckett & Richard Castle, Kate Beckett/Richard Castle
Series: Beware Of Darkness [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006014
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue- Like She Dances

**Author's Note:**

> The lyrics in the chapter and title of the story are some from the song Home (When Shadows Fall) by Harry Clarkson, Geoffrey Clarkson and Peter van Steeden, the version I have taken inspiration from for this story is sung by Paul McCartney from his album Kisses on the Bottom.
> 
> The title of this chapter is part of the title of the song Can She Do It Like She Dances by Steve Duboff, Gerry Robinson, sung by Ringo Starr, from his album Ringo the 4th.

Opening the door to the apartment, the young woman stepped inside calling, " _Maman_? Are you here?" She paused, hearing the sound of the old gramophone echoing through the place, and smiled, knowing it was her mother's favorite song without being able to hear the lyrics. And it also let her know her mother was dancing in the extra bedroom. "I brought some _Chateau Blanc_ , they didn't have the _Rosette_ this time, but I think the mimosas will be fine still."

Setting a bag on the counter, the woman took out a bottle of champagne and some strawberries saying, "They had a sale on strawberries, which I thought was pretty amazing considering it's the middle of April." She waited for a response to that, since her mother's favorite fruit was strawberries. But when there was nothing, nothing but the music still, she turned and headed to the room her mother used for practice, feeling a little apprehensive as she went through the darkened hall; though she was trying to reassure herself with the song she wouldn't be heard as she translated the lyrics in her mind.

_Dreams of days that used to be  
_ _Memories of those that I love the best  
_

_When shadows fall  
And trees whisper day is ending  
My thoughts are ever wending home  
When crickets call  
My heart is forever yearning  
Once more to be returning home_

_When the hills conceal the setting sun  
Stars begin a-peeping one by one  
Night covers all  
And though fortune may forsake me  
Sweet dreams will ever take me home_

The song was in French; the scratchy, deep female voice a constant from her childhood; and one her mother had made her dance to, perfecting each position, every placement of her feet, her toes, her arms, her carriage. She had no clue; when she thought of it later; why she was remembering that when she was trying to discover why her mother was unresponsive. The only thing she could think of to explain it was force of habit, so many hours to perform and that song playing repeatedly…

The walk down the hall seemed to take forever with her heart pounding heavily before she reached the slightly ajar door and pushed it in, the music still playing though the song was going through the lyrics a second time since she'd come in. " _Maman_?" she whispered heavily as she stepped inside.

At first she thought her mother was stretching at the _barre_ against the left wall of the room. The curtains were blowing in the breeze, cutting shadows onto her mother's pink costume she wore for lessons; which she never wore at home; and she took another step, trying to tell herself to stop and turn back around. Looking at her closer then, she realized her mother's left leg was on the bar and stretched out completely in perfect position, her toes in their dainty pink slippers pointed down perfectly.

" _Maman_ , are you okay?" the woman breathed, feeling a sense of relief as she told herself her mother had hurt herself and was going to move in a second, cursing in the languages she knew about a charley horse. But when she reached the mirror, she saw she was incredibly mistaken. Her mother's gray eyes staring up sightlessly and the blood coming from her mouth made her shriek, turning around and trying not to be sick on the polished dance floor as she realized her mother was not dancing; she was dead.


	2. Hide In The Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Hosanna by Paul McCartney, from his album New.

"I don't know," Castle was saying as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "I don't think you really need to practice again."

"But we start the _effacé_ today," Julia said nervously. "And you have to be good with all five of the steps before."

"Which you are," Castle said. But he could tell Julia was genuinely worried, so he quickly said, "But I don't think it's a bad idea to try the steps again. Go ahead."

Going to the _barre_ , Julia went into the first position, and went to the second before performing the other three before turning to Castle. She smiled and blushed a little when he clapped at her look and she hurried to him quickly. "You think I'm good?" she asked.

"Really good," he assured her. "Do you remember how Madame Claude showed the arms should go for the _effacé_?"

Nodding, Julia put her left arm above her, before she switched them, doing the _écarté_. "That's for after we learn the _effacé_ ," she said, putting her right arm down. She leaned against his legs and said, "Why do I practice early?"

"It's not too early," Castle said as he hugged her to him. "But this is a special class since your teacher has an announcement."

"Yeah, a surprise, I remember," Julia said eagerly. She heard footsteps coming to her room and looked up, seeing it was her mother. "Mommy, wanna see my arms for the _effacé_?" she asked Beckett.

"Go ahead, but I'm sorry sweetie, your ballet class was pushed back to after school," she said, looking up from her phone.

"Oh, so I don't have to practice now?" Julia asked.

"Right, so we have a little more time, sorry you had to wake up earlier," Beckett directed to Castle.

"Not a problem," he said. "That means I can make you a special breakfast." He kissed Julia's temple before he stood and went to his fiancée. He whispered into her ear as he passed her, sliding his hand over her waist, and kissed her when she smiled in response to him.

"Let's hope we don't get a case for a while," Beckett commented, watching him walk to the kitchen.

"I know," Castle said over his shoulder before he went out into the main room.

"Okay, show me your arms in position," Beckett said to her daughter when she turned to her.

"Like this," Julia said, showing her mother both positions.

"Really good," Beckett said, going to her and picking her up. She kissed Julia's cheek to her giggle, and walked out to the main room saying, "Go ahead and color okay? I'll help Castle."

"Mommy?" Julia asked as her mother set her down at the coffee table.

"Yeah?" Beckett asked as her daughter grabbed her hand to stop her from walking away.

"Can… do… we do anything for Easter?" Julia asked shyly.

Glancing at Castle; since they'd never talked about doing anything with Julia for the holiday; Beckett suddenly felt a little guilty as she remembered Julia was learning about Easter in school and other spring festivals around the world and knew the little girl would be wondering if she herself had ever celebrated. She bit her lower lip for a moment, trying to think of what to do; not wanting to commit to anything though since she wanted to make plans with Castle.

"Actually, the park by my place is having a big Easter egg hunt," he suddenly said from the kitchen where he was at the stove. "Really big, and your mom and I will take you there after we have a great breakfast."

"Are you offering to cook?" Beckett asked with a smile as she was relieved; not having been sure what they could do exactly since she hadn't celebrated since she was a little girl.

"Actually I have a French place I order from for brunches in the spring since their fruits are amazing," Castle said.

"Will the Easter bunny come?" Julia asked then, having been listening to them.

"I think he will," Beckett said, reminding herself to get some eggs ready since Easter was six days away.

"Will Alexis come home to have Easter?" Julia said eagerly.

"I'm afraid not sweetheart," Castle said. "She still has school."

"Oh," Julia said, sighing as she leaned against her mother. "I miss her Mommy."  
"Me too," Beckett said gently, stroking her daughter's hair which had been pulled back with a blue headband. "Oh, speaking of school, you need to get changed into your uniform since you're not having practice until later. Come on."

Castle watched the two go back to Julia's room, and hurriedly finished up the last two pancakes; specially shaped after their conversation. He set out the plates, put some bowls of fresh fruit he and Beckett had picked up on their way back to her place the night before with Julia, and turned back as the two walked out. "Breakfast is ready. And I did something a little special for you Julia," he told her as he picked her up once she'd reached him.

"What is it?" the little girl asked as he put her into her chair. "Ooh, Mommy look, eggs!"

"Very nice of you," Beckett said with a slight smile as she saw the egg shaped pancakes. "Make sure you eat those sweetie," she told her daughter before she went to the kitchen to get the coffee ready. "Yes?" she asked as her fiancé walked up to her.

"You're touched by what I did right?" Castle asked simply.

"What do you want me to do?" Beckett asked with a sigh though it wasn't really an irritated one.

"No, I'm just saying," Castle said, shrugging. When she pushed at his shoulder he laughed slightly and said, "What I asked earlier, before we got up."

"I'll think about it," Beckett said simply. "And you didn't have any plans for Sunday did you?"

"Actually no, I don't really do much for Easter now Alexis is older," Castle said, taking the cup of coffee she handed him. Before she could turn back to her brewer he took her hand and pulled her to him, kissing her slowly at first. But when she responded he deepened it slightly, remembering that Julia was there and could see them. He lingered a little longer however, as much as he dared to before he was pulling away. "But anyways, it'll be fun to get to celebrate with her."

"It will be," Beckett said. "But now I need to buy her an Easter dress."

"And one for yourself too," Castle commented. When she looked at him in slight confusion he smiled and said, "A sundress is fine."

"Right," Beckett said simply. "Okay, let's eat and go because you and I do need to head into the station. Unless you're going to write today instead?"

"Oh no, I wrote Thursday and Friday remember," Castle said as they sat at the table with Julia. "Unless… do you not want me to go to work with you?"

Beckett merely smiled before she looked down at the _Ledger_ and began to read, feeling Castle's gaze on her. She waited for him to pick up his fork before she reached over to him, squeezing his free hand on the table before they turned their attention to Julia, asking her about school and listened to her telling them excitedly about her reading lessons, their hands still clasped tightly together.

* * *

"Good morning Kate," Celia's mother Anita said as Beckett, Castle and Julia walked up to the elementary school building at Mt. Surrey-On-Hudson. She smiled as her daughter went to Julia and grabbed her hand, the two stretching their arms in the _effacé_. "Has she been practicing all morning too?"

"Basically," Beckett said. "And your husband?"

"Work, but he'll be picking her up so he might get to see her practice the _effacé_ and _écarté_ ," Anita said simply. "Any idea why they moved the practice back to after school?"

"No idea, it didn't say anything in the text I got from the school, maybe Madame Claude changed her mind," Beckett said, shrugging. "Sweetie, come on, we need to head in." When Julia had reached her and Castle they walked inside, her fiancé following behind them a little as Celia and Anita walked next to them. At the door to her daughter's room the other two walked in first, and she and Castle followed Julia inside, going to her desk as the little girl hung up her coat and unpacked her backpack at her cubbyhole.

"Are you gonna pick me up?" Julia asked, hurrying to her mother and Castle.

"I don't know, it depends on how work goes, but I will do my best to be here if I can," Beckett said. "But if not me or Castle, then Martha will definitely pick you up."

"Kay," Julia said before she turned to Castle, holding her arms up to him. When he'd picked her up, she hugged him tightly and said, "Thank you for my pancakes, they were yummy. Oh, and for letting me show you all my steps too I'm glad you liked that I danced them good."

"You're welcome," Castle said, hugging her back before setting her down again. "Have fun today, I'm looking forward to hearing all about your day tonight."

"Good, I wanna tell you," Julia said with a wide smile on her face. She then turned to her mother and hugged her once she was kneeling in front of her. She shared a kiss with her and said, "I'll miss you Mommy; and you too Castle."

"Me too," he said quickly with a slight smile as he watched the two.

"I'll miss you Julia, but you'll have fun today," Beckett said. "And listen to Mrs. Clayton and Madame Claude; and have fun. I love you sweetie."

"Love you Mommy," Julia said, hugging her mother tightly again as she hugged her back. They shared another kiss, and she then skipped over to the play area where Celia was with their friend Betty, playing with the horse figurines the classroom had.

Watching her daughter for a moment longer, Beckett turned with Castle and they walked out of the school without another word between them until they had gone outside. "I still hate doing that, but at least she's loving school now," she commented.

"I know, it's been amazing to see her from her first day to now," Castle said with a smile. "But I'm not kidding when I say I'll miss her either. So, do I meet you or-" he started to say when Beckett's phone started to ring.

"Beckett," she said, answering before the third ring could go off. She listened and then said, "Alright, I'll give Castle a call after I get a cab from Julia's school, so I'll be there as soon as possible." Hanging up the phone and putting it away she said simply, "We have a case," and they walked together to the street. Castle hailed her a cab before she watched him walk to the nearest coffee shop; having given him a quick kiss on the cheek before getting into the taxi, heading to their crime scene.

* * *

"Hey, how's Julia doing?" Castle asked as he walked up to Beckett who was just going out of the other elevator in the apartment building where their body was.

"Fine, thanks," Beckett said, taking the coffee he handed her as she nodded to LT who was standing in the doorway of an apartment. "Espo, what've we got?" she asked once they were inside.

"About an hour ago the daughter of the woman who lives here came in to make breakfast before her mom was going to head to work early. She heard music playing and went into the other bedroom where she found her mother positioned leaning against the… bar," the detective explained as he led them to a back room.

Glancing over at a woman standing with her back to them in the kitchen, Beckett felt there was something familiar about her, but didn't have a chance to see who she was as they were walking down a hall. Going inside the room to the left first, she paused when she saw the outline of the vic marked on a mirror.

"She was found like that?" Castle asked as he could tell then what Esposito had meant by the vic being found leaning against the _barre_.

"She was, she's in her late forties, and I don't really see any signs of death at the moment, no stab wounds, gunshot wounds; so I'll need to get her back to the lab to get a better idea of how she died," Lanie said, grabbing the sheet covering the body. "She was killed between midnight and two-" she began to say then when the vic was visible.

"Oh my god," Beckett said, her eyes widening slightly when she recognized who it was.

"Do you know her?" Ryan asked, having been looking at the mirror with CSU.

"Yeah, well, kind of, she's Julia's ballet teacher; Madame Claude," Beckett replied. She shook her head and said, "She was supposed to have an early class today because she; Madame Claude; had an announcement and… it was cancelled; now I know why."

"Any idea who would want to kill her?" Esposito asked.

"No, I said I kind of knew her, from going with my daughter to her weekend classes, and those times I've been able to pick her up," Beckett replied, glancing at the _barre_ again. "But when I did talk to her it was just about Julia, never anything personal."

"What are you going to tell your daughter?" Lanie asked.

"Good question, I have no idea," Beckett said. "So, any signs of a break in?" she asked her partners to try and forget for the time being that she would have to tell Julia her teacher was dead.

"No, so the vic knew them or let them in," Esposito said.

"There was a slight struggle, but believe me when I use the word slight," Lanie said. "Right here around the wrist," she told Beckett and Castle, showing them the vic's wrist where there was a small bruise around it. "And I was saying, she was killed around midnight or two, based on lividity, but the body has not been there against the mirror that long."

"They stuck around to pose it," Castle said.

"And dress her," Ryan said. "According to her daughter, an-"

"Amber Holsten, she's Madame's, or was, Madame Claude's assistant. Julia loves her, I'd like to speak with her after we look through here," Beckett said a little absently.

"Okay, well anyways her daughter came in an hour ago; she didn't know her mother had that early class since she didn't mention it," Ryan continued, looking at his pad of paper. "Came in to make breakfast before they practiced here together."

"And she heard this song playing, _Home_ if my French isn't too rusty," Castle said, having gone to the gramophone to look. "Security cameras in the halls by any chance?"

"No, we're not that lucky, excuse me," Esposito said before he left the room.

"You guys need to do a canvas of the apartments, ask if anyone remembers anyone here last night around our time of death window," Beckett said. "And check with the lobby, maybe we'll get someone leaving this morning before Ms. Holsten came in."

"Got it," Ryan said with a nod.

"Think it could be the daughter?" Castle asked.

"It could be," Beckett said simply, knowing he was aware that the vic and her daughter weren't exactly close from the few times they'd gone to see Julia practice. "I think I want to talk to Amber, but back at the Precinct; along with her sister."

"Sister?" Lanie asked.

"She used to help with classes, but she recently got hired by the NYC Ballet Troupe according to Julia," Beckett said. "I never really saw her though while she was still at the school. Anything else about the murder?"

"Nothing really, like I said, I need to take a closer look at her," Lanie said. "And as for that struggle I told you about, there's no sign of it if that's what you're asking."

"No mess, anywhere?" Beckett asked one of the CSU members. "Not even the bedroom."

"No Detective, everything's pretty clean, we're not getting much," the man answered. "Not even fingerprints."

"Okay, I think you'll likely find some on the doorknob to this room, and the door to the apartment, likely in the kitchen too," Beckett said.

"Would that clear up the daughter? The one that's here I mean?" Castle asked.

"Not exactly," Beckett replied.

"Right, she could have cleaned up and come back to make herself look innocent," Castle said as he then followed his fiancée out of the room. "But what would make a daughter kill her mother? Stole her boyfriend maybe and she's taking him back the only way she can. Plus, you know, the whole dancing thing, might as well humiliate her once she was found."

"Sadistic, but a plausible theory," Beckett said. She paused before they walked into the main room of the apartment and turned to him since they were alone.

"We can talk about that later," Castle said quickly as he knew she was going to ask what they should say to Julia.

Nodding, Beckett turned back towards the kitchen and walking to the young woman at the counter she said, "Amber? I'm sure you remember me from Mt. Surrey."

"Ms. Beckett, I… oh, Detective, I'm sorry, I forgot you were… are you investigating what, what happened to my mother?" the woman asked, sniffing slightly.

"I am, I wonder if we might head back to my Precinct and talk with you and your sister," Beckett said.

"Yeah, let me just call Amy," Amber said, taking her phone out of her pocket. The conversation with her sister was quick and she said, "I don't know who'd want to kill my mom, she was, she was strict, but only when she danced."

"I know," Beckett said with a slight nod. "I'm wondering though, why were you here this morning instead of at the special class at the school?"

"What class? We always have them after," Amber said as Beckett walked with her outside of the apartment.

"You weren't aware then that the ballet class had been scheduled for this morning?" Beckett said simply.

"No, we… it's," Amber said before she stopped. " _Maman_ was acting odd lately, her behavior had changed, and I thought she was starting to get frustrated but I don't know what was going on exactly."

"We can talk about that at the station," Beckett said. "And give you a chance to compose yourself if you'd like," she added since the woman's eyes were red as she dabbed her cheeks dry. She led Amber into the elevator, glancing over at Castle and seeing the slight shake of his head to her. She didn't think the woman was guilty either, but she'd seen enough to know emotions could easily be faked. But she just hoped; for Julia's sake; that Amber was not the teacher's murderer.

* * *

"Amy, I'm so glad you came," Amber was saying as her sister walked into the room Castle and Beckett had shown her to at the station. She hugged her and said, "I can't believe she's gone."

"I know," Amy said, drying her cheeks with a Kleenex. "But what happened exactly?"

"You can sit down," Beckett said to the two women. Once they were all seated she said, "I need to know what you were both doing between midnight and two last night."

"You suspect us?" Amy asked defensively.

"It's standard procedure," Beckett said, glancing at Amber.

"I was at the school," the woman answered. "My mother ordered a new _barre_ and she and the school let me test it out."

"And you?" Beckett said with a nod, making a mental note to check the security footage at the school.

"I was at the Met, there's a show in two days; I have the lead," Amy said simply. "There should be security footage of it somewhere."

"Then let me ask you, is there anyone you know that would do this to her?" Beckett asked.

"Well, like I told you before, she seemed pretty stressed out with something. She wouldn't share though," Amber said. "It worried me though, she'd been a little sick lately, so I have to wonder if the announcement you said she was going to have today was that she was ill."

Beckett was going to reply, when Amy suddenly burst out saying angrily, "If anything she was probably sick of having to deal with those little shits she taught."

Castle looked at his fiancée as he immediately took offence to that, seeing the look in her eyes becoming immediately furious before she somehow fought it back, but her back was rigid and her cheeks were slightly flushed. He had to admire her as she didn't respond, wanting to throttle the woman himself for saying that about Julia.

"Amy, her daughter is one of the dancers _Maman_ and I taught," Amber quickly hissed to her sister.

"Oh, sorry," the woman said simply, shrugging. "Look, I'm sorry, but the classes were not exactly smooth sailing, for all of us."

"But do you honestly think her students had anything to do with your mother's death?" Castle asked.

"No, I'm just replying to what she said about _Maman_ being ill," Amber said. "But as to anyone who could do it… didn't she say she was being harassed by a man?"

"That's right," Amber said, remembering herself them. "She was walking back to her place when she was accosted by a homeless man. But it happened twice I think, once two weeks ago and the last time a week ago."

"Did she file a restraining order or complaint?" Castle asked.

"No, she just brushed it off, saying that it was just a guy who'd been hanging around her building," Amy said. "But it didn't happen again, so we figured it was over."

"Alright, thank you both for your time," Beckett said, standing up then. "I may have more questions for you in the future about your mother."

"Just a quick question before you go," Castle said then. When the two women looked at him he asked, "What's going to happen to the dance class?"

"Amber will assist the new teacher if the school; and said teacher; approves," Amy said. "Finally you get more of a chance to teach Ballroom huh? _Maman_ never let you set up those weekend classes like you wanted to didn't she?"

"No," Amber said slowly, looking at Beckett nervously.

"My daughter told me about that," was all she said.

"P-Please keep us informed as to what you find out," Amber stammered at first. "I'd really like to know what happened with _Maman_ , who did this."

Nodding, Beckett followed the two women out, Castle following her, before she started to turn to go to her desk as the vic's daughters headed into the elevator. But before she could take a step in that direction she heard Captain Gates' voice calling her. She smiled slightly at Castle before turning and going into the office. "Sir?" she asked.

"I've been told that you knew the victim of your case you received this morning," Gates said, standing behind her desk.

"To a degree," Beckett replied. "She's, she was Julia's ballet teacher and I've met her, but that's pretty much it. We only talked about Julia and the class whenever I did speak with her."

"So there's no reason I should remove you from the investigation?" Gates asked.

"No sir, I would like to find out who did this," Beckett said.

"Alright, but if it becomes a problem I'll be putting Ryan and Esposito in charge," Gates said.

"Of course," Beckett said. She turned to leave when Gates asked one more question.

"And how will your daughter take the news?" the Captain said.

"I'm not sure, I'll need to think of how to tell her before I think about her reaction," Beckett said. When Gates nodded to her she went to the break room where she saw Castle was, and stepping inside the room was relieved to find him alone. "What do we do?" she asked him immediately as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"I'm not sure why everyone is asking you about Julia, she wasn't really the biggest fan of her teacher, like you said," Castle told her.

"I know," Beckett said, leaning against the counter. "But we need to talk to her later."

"You want me to lead on this one?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said, "I'll think of a way to tell her, but you need to be there too."

"As if I'd just leave everything to you," Beckett scoffed.

"Yeah, you know she was wrong," Castle said.

"Amy Holsten?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she frowned briefly before she said, "I don't think Julia saw her that much, so she doesn't know my daughter. I asked Ryan to check their alibis though, in the meantime I'd like to-"

"Yo Beckett, got the canvas done," Esposito said, walking into the room then and getting himself some coffee. "And no one saw anything suspicious, but one neighbor said there's a fire escape leading to the practice room our vic had."

"Is it easy to get inside?" Beckett asked.

"If you know how to jimmy the window open, but it would damage the paint on the sill," Esposito replied as Ryan walked in.

"And any damage?" Castle asked.

"Not a single piece of paint chipped off," Esposito said. "But that doesn't mean our killer didn't leave that way, because, the window was opened when the daughter discovered the body."

"She never opened the windows in that room I'm guessing?" Ryan asked.

"Never, so that's why she realized something was wrong when she first went inside; could see the curtains blowing," Esposito said.

"And the door to the apartment?" Beckett asked.

"No signs of forced entry," Esposito answered. "So it's likely our vic knew her killer. And I asked about who went to the apartment, but they never saw anyone or heard a knock or voices all through yesterday."

"They had a key," Beckett said simply. "The daughters?" she said, looking at Ryan.

"Their alibis check out," he answered quickly. "The younger daughter was dancing at Julia's school for a while, I think; according to what I saw of the security footage; she was getting lessons for today ready while she was testing that _barre_ apparently. And the older daughter was at the Met, dancing in costume by herself."

"Alright, so we need to ask them who else besides them has a key," Beckett said. "Can you go through the full security footage from both places Ryan? And Espo, contact CSU and see if they've gotten any fingerprints that don't go with the ones that are likely going to be Amber Holsten's." When the two had left she looked at Castle and said, "We need to check and see if she did have any boyfriends." She held up her hand as he started to speak saying, "That doesn't mean that your theory works out though, both daughters have alibis."

"Oh I know, I was just going to tweak it, instead it's the boyfriend… wanting to be with one of the daughters but our vic was in the way. And since I'm guessing Madame Claude was a serious dancer, then he humiliated her that way instead as a final slap in the face," Castle said. "What do you think?" he asked as he sat with her at her desk but she didn't reply.

"Interesting, but I think first I just need to see if someone besides a boyfriend has a key," Beckett said simply before picking up her phone.

Castle looked on as she spoke to first Amber and then Amy Holsten, and then hung up, frowning slightly. "I'm right aren't I? You just don't want to admit it," he said quickly.

"Sort of, Amber and then Amy confirmed it, but our vic had an ex, a Lorenzo Martine, who was-" Beckett began.

"Hey Beckett, if you're talking about Martine, you might want to check this out," Esposito said. "CSU just got onto her laptop that was in her bedroom. Found these in her mailbox," he said as Beckett and Castle came over to his desk.

Leaning over, Beckett read the first e-mail under Martine's reply, seeing it was in another language. "And you can read Italian?" she asked.

"No, but it's close enough to Spanish that I've got a line here, _come over tonight and we'll celebrate until dawn_ ," Esposito said. "And this was sent-"

"Six last night," Castle finished, looking at the top of the message.

"Bring him in, because he has a key to the apartment still, he might have been an ex, but he was still in our vic's life," Beckett said. When Esposito had left she turned to Castle who spoke before she could.

"Looks like their celebration ended sooner than they'd planned," he commented. He smiled when Beckett rolled her eyes at that, and he followed her back to her desk, wondering if they would get lucky and that break would be the conclusion to the case.


	3. Promise That I Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song That Day Is Done by Paul McCartney, from his album Flowers in the Dirt.

"Mr. Martine," Beckett said as she and Castle walked into the interrogation room where the man was sitting at the table.

"Why am I here?" Martine asked as Castle and Beckett sat across from him. "Am I a suspect?"

"We'd like to ask you about your relationship with Claude Démodé," Beckett said, not answering the question.

"She and I were dating, actually, we became engaged a few days ago if you have to know," Martine said.

"Engaged? She didn't have a ring on," Castle said.

"We wanted to buy it together, because I proposed to her a little… suddenly, after the news she gave me, I don't see how I couldn't," Martine said, smiling a little wistfully for a moment. Looking across the table at Beckett and Castle he frowned and said, "She was two months pregnant."

"Pregnant," Beckett said simply, a little startled at that news.

"Yes, and it was a shock since we aren't exactly young, but she was and… we were going to get married and she was going to leave that school so we could open up our own dance studio," Martine said. "But I guess that's just a bunch of empty promises to each other."

"You were with her last night," Castle said simply.

"What? No, I was at a dinner with the NYC Ballet Troupe after the last show of _Sleeping Beauty_ the cast had done," Martine said. "Oh, you found that e-mail," he said, a look of realization on his face. "She was going to announce her departure this morning, and wanted to celebrate that first step towards our dreams. But I couldn't get out of going to the show or the dinner, since I was the choreographer for the performances. So I texted her and let her know I couldn't join her, and she said she would just relax." A brief smile appeared on his face and he looked up at them saying, "She sent me this picture," showing them his phone. "Our baby," he explained as Castle and Beckett looked at the grainy black and white picture.

Beckett exchanged a glance with her fiancé, and then turned back to Martine asking, "Do you still have the text conversation?"

"Here," Martine said, handing her his phone.

Reading the conversation, Beckett nodded when she saw the final message from the vic was at eight and only read _call me tomorrow_. "I'm afraid we'll need to keep you until we can check your alibi," she told him as she handed him his phone.

"Go ahead, I know I didn't do this to her, and definitely not our unborn child," Martine said, shoulders slumping at the end as he looked at the ultrasound again.

* * *

"I was really hoping that he would be our guy," Castle commented as they watched Martine being lead to holding.

"To finish this case?" Beckett asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, did you find out what that big announcement was?" Castle asked, sitting in his chair.

"I did," Beckett said. "Turns out that she was going to give her very last class, and her daughter; Amber; was going to take over as instructor."

"So she doesn't really have a motive to kill her mother," Castle said. "I mean, I know she didn't kill her herself of course, but even if she hired someone else, what would be the point if she was taking over?"

"I know. And it's great news, for Julia since she loves Amber," Beckett said. "But I just hope they'll keep her on now that all this has happened." Looking at her computer screen she saw a message in her inbox from the restaurant where Martine had been at the time of the vic's death. Opening it, she played the security footage; knowing Castle was watching over her shoulder. With eleven forty five on the time stamp, she saw the man sitting at a large table with a number of other people. She picked up her phone and dialed one of the numbers their suspect had given; one of the people at the dinner with him.

Listening in as Beckett confirmed that Martine had never left the restaurant on his own, and the dinner party hadn't finished until two thirty, Castle nodded, having expected that already. "So now what? Financials?" he asked her when she turned to him.

"And her basic information, although I'm not really sure we'll find much in the financials," Beckett said. "With a baby on the way and what she and her fiancé wanted to do, I doubt we'll find anything there to explain her murder; like drugs if you're thinking that. But we need to see once Lanie does her autopsy."

Inside the conference room Castle helped Beckett spread out the files and as they were beginning to look through them he said, "What about the class after school?"

Looking up, Beckett took out her phone and called the school. "Yes, this is Kate Beckett, mother of Julia Beckett. I'm aware of the death of Madame Claude the ballet- oh, yes, I am. No I'm afraid I can't divulge anything about a homicide investigation. No Miss Amber is not a suspect she's been cleared. So the class today… it's cancelled, okay, thank you. Bye," she said, hanging up. She didn't say anything to Castle, instead dialed another number and said, "Martha, it's Kate, yeah, no, we don't have anything yet." She looked at her fiancé, not really surprised he'd spoken to his mother about their case already.

Castle said; once Beckett had hung up with his mother; "Will she be able to pick her up?"

"She will, she's taking her to your place," she said quietly, looking towards the door. "I asked her not to mention anything yet."

"I think," Castle said, finishing reading through the information on the vic. "Wait," he said suddenly, going back to one of the papers in the file. "She's half Russian."

"And?" Beckett asked, watching him read something.

"Her grandfather was a member of the KGB who was shot mysteriously. What if she was looking into his murder, now or in the past, and they-" Castle started to say.

"I doubt it," Beckett said with a sigh. "Has she ever been to Russia?"

"No," Castle said slowly. "At least I don't think so."

"I just have tickets bought to go to France," Beckett replied, waving the page of the vic's bank statement in her hand. "Nothing about Russia."

"But it would fit… oh wait, maybe it's a Russian mafia hit," Castle said, warming up to the idea quickly. "She wouldn't even need to go to Russia, here-" he started to say before she held up her hand to stop him from speaking. Looking on as she made a phone call, he soon realized she was talking to the vic's youngest daughter. "Well?" he asked as his fiancée had asked if her mother was in contact with any Russians in the city or had even been to Russia.

"I think your theory is just that," Beckett said simply. "Her mother was more French than Russian, especially since she was born in Marseilles. And she's not aware of her mother having any unsavory contacts as she put it."

"Alright, well, it was worth a shot," Castle said. "And I assume I have a quota with crazy theories to keep up and I just fulfilled mine. What did she say to your last question?"

"Nothing, I think she was a little in shock hearing her mother was pregnant actually," Beckett said; having told the vic's daughter to see if Amber had known.

"And what about her taking her mother's position at the school?" Castle asked next.

"Still in shock, I'm guessing it's going to take a while to set in," Beckett replied. "But she doesn't know anyone who could really be a threat to her mother. I'm going to call a contact of hers, who's actually a friend of Martine's."

"Did we let him go or is he still there?" Castle asked, having forgotten about the vic's ex.

"I called in his release… and here are his papers, thank you Thomas," Beckett said as she took them and quickly signed. "Tell him," she said, handing the officer her card. "To call me if anything comes to mind or if he knows anyone who might have any reason to harm the victim."

After the officer had left, Castle took the next file and scanned the bank statements of the victim for the past month when Beckett's phone rang. "Is it just me or did she take longer this time?" he asked his fiancée when he saw that it was Lanie.

"Beckett?" she said, answering the phone instead of answering his question. "Yeah, is everything… sure, we'll be right there." Hanging up she closed the file she'd been looking through telling Castle, "She sounded a little disturbed, I should have called her to warn her about the pregnancy."

"Anything else?" he asked as he followed her outside.

"We'll find out," Beckett said simply as they went to the elevators together.

* * *

"You knew about the pregnancy and you didn't bother to warn me?" Lanie asked as soon as Beckett walked inside.

"How did you know I knew?" Beckett asked.

"Because Vince that was walking by you had the fetuses," Lanie said simply.

"She was pregnant with twins?" Castle asked, startled as he looked at Beckett.

"Oh, you didn't know that, well, yes, they were two months along, and were identical twins," Lanie said. "Shook me up, but I had a feeling she was either pregnant or had been recently when I started the procedure."

"What about the murder?" Beckett said, a little uneasy at the thought the two small shapes under the sheet the doctor had carried past them were the vic's children.

"That took me a little longer to determine," Lanie replied, turning to the table behind her and handing Beckett a file. "I had to perform two toxicology reports, and finally got a definitive answer to the results of the first one. Your vic was injected with succinylcholine."

"And without any struggle?" Castle asked.

"I found the main injection site behind her neck, and that would explain this," Lanie said as she pulled up the vic's hair, revealing the chunk of locks that had been torn off her scalp.

"So it was a woman," Castle said. "I've said it before; poison is usually a woman's weapon, and the hair points to an obvious cat fight."

"That's unlikely," Lanie said as Beckett gave him a look. "I didn't find any signs of a struggle except for that. But what I also found was chloroform in her lungs."

"So he-" Beckett started to say.

"Or she," Castle interjected.

"Knocked her out but they didn't give her enough?" Beckett said, trailing off before a look of realization appeared on her face and she looked at her fiancée.

"He wanted to hurt her," they both said at the same time.

"So this is very likely about revenge," Castle said. "You know, one person I've been thinking about as a possible suspect is the father of her two daughters."

"We'll have to look into that when we go back," Beckett said. "Something else?"

"Yes, and thank you for asking instead of just leaving me to have to call you again," Lanie said. "That wasn't the only injection mark."

"Where else?" Beckett asked.

"All around in this area, about twenty of them," Lanie said as she gestured to the vic's abdomen with her hand.

"He stabbed her?" Castle said.

"No, they were just injections, my guess is; after finding the fetuses; that your killer found out she was pregnant and was trying to kill them before he killed your vic," Lanie said. "But the thing is, they used a very, very long needle to try and get to them, the puncture wound indicates a needle about six inches long."

"The needle used on the neck was smaller?" Beckett asked. When Lanie nodded, she looked at Castle and then asked, "Would they have been able to kill the fetuses with that long of a needle?"

"No, if we had tested what was left of the fluid in her womb; if the needle had gotten that deep in the first place; it's likely the succinylcholine was in that, not the babies. But once the vic was injected…" Lanie answered grimly.

"So they wanted the babies dead as well, or baby since they couldn't have known she was having twins," Beckett said.

"Is there…" Castle started to say before he stopped, frowning slightly.

"What is it?" Beckett asked, wondering at his hesitation.

"I'm wondering if maybe this is revenge from a past lover; or what's more likely now; the father of her two daughters," Castle said. "And I'm thinking, what if she had two lovers and the babies were not Martine's but her killer's-"

"And her killer thought they were Martine's," Beckett finished for him. When Castle nodded she said, "That's a very twisted plot Castle, but, Lanie?"

"It can be done, but I'll need DNA from this Martine guy and whoever the other possible father is," the doctor said.

"For now just start the test, we'll get you the other DNA sample when we can," Beckett said as she pulled her phone from her pocket. "Call me if you find anything else."

As they were walking down the hall outside, Castle waited for Beckett to finish her phone call to Esposito, to try and get a hold of Lorenzo Martine to get a DNA sample. Once she had hung up he said, "He's going to be even more devastated if those weren't his children."

"I know," Beckett said. "But it does need to be checked out. So this killer was planning this, because that drug is not easy to get. Esposito's going to check pharmacies after getting a hold of Martine."

"Ryan's still looking at the footage?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, I don't know why though, he should just be looking at yesterday," Beckett said with a slight frown before looking up at him. "I'm going to look into the father of her daughters though."

"And me?" Castle said.

"The financial records," Beckett said simply. She very briefly smiled at his sigh and then said, "Were you… bothered at all?" as they left.

"Yeah, I feel like calling Alexis," Castle said before he looked at his watch. "But she's got a class right now. Julia?"

"I wish I could," Beckett said with a sigh. "Didn't realize being a parent would affect me this way."

Castle nodded in understanding as they went out to her car and he said, "You can call her sooner. I would ask though that you let me join you."

"That might be difficult," Beckett said since they had only done that a few times while still at the Precinct and it had been risky.

"Then take a walk for some fresh air, I'll run after you with some information," Castle said as they got in her car.

Beckett didn't say anything to his slightly desperate tone; instead she reached over and squeezed his arm before turning the key in the ignition. She understood how he felt, thinking of Julia even more than she usually did with that case herself.

* * *

"This is getting tedious. Tedious, dull and a waste of my time," Castle groaned in frustration as he rubbed his face with his hands. "She had a clean record, the only bigger purchases in the last six months were a trip to France and a kitchen renovation, everything's checking out. At least tell me you're having more luck."

"Not really," Beckett said with a groan, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. She spoke again, taking her aquamarine pendant in her fingers as she did so, saying, "The daughters' father is Philippe Costa, and after the economy tanked he lost everything and from what I understand with what I've learned from his friends, he became homeless. So tracking him down will be really hard."

"Well, if he has no money, he could have stolen the drug," Castle commented. "Might be a report."

"I know, I'll search that next, but I don't get the feeling he's the possible father of the babies," Beckett said, rubbing her jaw for a moment.

"Hey, Beckett," Ryan said, appearing in the doorway to the room.

"What is it?" she asked, seeing the slightly serious look on his face as she turned.

"You're going to want to see this," Ryan simply said, starting to turn. He paused and then turned back to Castle saying, "You too."

Sharing a look with her fiancé, Beckett got up and walked after Ryan to the TV where he had security footage from her daughter's ballet classroom on pause. "That's the school, the room where they hold the classes," she commented once she and Castle were standing in front of the screen. "I thought you were looking at the Met footage."

"I finished that already, and this is from three days ago," Ryan said.

"Why did you go so far back?" Castle asked.

"Because I noticed something about the same time every day around six thirty when the vic was getting ready to leave," Ryan said. "And I went back after it happened the second day in a row to see when it began and got to this." He played the footage, watching Beckett and Castle as they turned their attention to the TV.

Beckett looked at the two figures that appeared in view with the vic by what she knew was the door, talking with the teacher before they left and then two tall, burly men came inside. "They came in every day since that one?" she asked, turning to Ryan.

"Yeah, but keep watching," he replied.

Castle said; when the vic and one of the men started to obviously argue; "Looks like we have a suspect, but go back to the beginning, where you started."

"That's…" Beckett started to say, trying to see the two people who were turning and walking from the vic. "Can you enlarge them?" She watched as Ryan quickly did so, fixing the quality, and she took a deep breath of air. "That's Julia."

"And my mother," Castle said, looking at her in slight shock.

Without a word, Beckett turned and headed out to her desk with her phone. She dialed Martha quickly, speaking with Castle's mother before she called her daughter's school. "Hello, this is Kate Beckett again, a Martha Rodgers is coming to check my daughter out in about ten minutes," she said as she looked at her watch. "No, she won't be returning today. Thank you," she said before she hung up. "So they're coming here."

"She should be okay," Castle said quickly in a low voice as he knew why she was concerned.

Nodding, Beckett sat down at her desk, looking at Julia's school picture. She stared at it for a moment, hoping as she clasped her hands together that her daughter wouldn't have a sudden regression of her memory when she came to the fourth floor. But she knew she could do nothing about it happening or not, and decided to face her fear head on. "Ryan," she called; standing up as Castle quickly joined her in walking to the detective's desk.


	4. Your Little Corner Of The World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Nikita written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, from Elton John's album Ice on Fire.

Standing on the steps to the Precinct, Beckett watched the taxi cabs passing by, glancing at her partners who were waiting with her. After she had apprised Ryan of the situation, Esposito had returned after sending a DNA sample to Lanie and she'd informed him of the new development and possible suspect. All while she was doing that, she had become more and more concerned about what was going to happen once Julia arrived. After she'd talked to Ryan and Esposito about what to ask Castle's mother; as they were handling the interview; Castle had come up with a sudden idea, and once she'd asked permission from Captain Gates, they were waiting outside.

At that moment a cab pulled up to the curb and Castle hurried down the steps as he could see it was his mother. He paid the cabbie, glancing back as Martha stepped out and looking worried before he took the receipt to sign from the driver.

"Sweetie," Beckett said worriedly as she ran down the steps once she could hear her daughter was crying. Taking Julia from Martha she looked at the woman questioningly, trying to calm her daughter by rocking her slightly back and forth.

"Apparently a girl in Julia's class heard two teachers talking about what had happened, and ran into the classroom screaming about their teacher being killed which upset all the girls. By the time I reached the school, they had gathered the students of the ballet classes to the cafeteria and a psychologist told them about Madam Claude," Martha said, stroking Julia's hair. "She's been crying since I picked her up."

"Thank you Martha," Beckett said simply. "I'll be at the park around the corner," she told Ryan and Esposito before walking down the sidewalk.

"Where are you going bro?" Esposito asked as Castle hesitated.

"Are you worried how we're going to question your mom?" Ryan asked.

"No, just, do you need me in there?" Castle asked, straining not to go after Beckett and Julia; worried about the little girl.

"I think we're good," Ryan said, keeping Esposito from answering then.

"I'll see you after," Castle told his mother, who nodded in understanding before she headed inside the station with Esposito and Ryan. Once he was sure they were gone, he turned and tried not to start running down the sidewalk. Luckily Beckett was right at the corner, and had managed to get Julia calmed down. "Hey," he said gently to the little girl, kissing her cheek.

"Let's head to the park," Beckett said, watching as Castle dried Julia's cheeks with a handkerchief. They walked together to the small park that she had asked Gates if she could interview her daughter there. She had explained about her fears of Julia's regression, and luckily the captain had been sympathetic and had agreed to her request. "Okay, Julia, I know you're sad right now," she said once they were sitting at a picnic table, Castle next to her as he faced them. She hugged the little girl as Julia hugged her tightly, and kissed her forehead tenderly. "What did they tell you at school?"

"That Madame Claude was in the sky," Julia explained what she understood about what she'd been told. "But someone made her go if you want to talk to Martha didn't they?"

Looking at Castle, who nodded slightly, Beckett thought for a brief second and then said, "We need to talk to you about the other day when you were at ballet class."

"Why?" Julia asked, guessing that question was a yes to her question.

"We saw that some men went to see your teacher," Castle said. "And you saw them as you were leaving with my mother."

"Oh, they were coming to see Madame Claude, because they talked to her," Julia said.

"Did you hear what they said?" Beckett asked.

"No, they spoke something else," Julia said. "Like you talk at the market we go to sometimes."

"Russian," Beckett stated. When the little girl nodded she said, "Did you recognize any words they said?"

"Just hello," Julia answered.

"We're they angry at all?" Castle then asked as Beckett was getting her phone out of her pocket.

"I don't think so, we left after they said hello. Did, Mommy did they hurt Madame Claude?" Julia asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I don't know sweetie. Martha's going to describe the man she says she saw talking to your teacher," Beckett said reading her text from Esposito. "They're going to make a drawing, so do you think you can remember what he looks like?"

"To help the picture?" Julia asked.

"To make sure that it's him," Castle corrected.

"Yeah," Julia said solemnly. She sighed deeply and then leaned against her mother and said, "Madame Claude was fighting with Miss Amy yesterday."

"She was," Beckett said, trying to hide her surprise at that as she and Castle exchanged a look.

"Why was Miss Amy there?" Castle asked.

"Miss Amber wasn't there to teach 'cause she was somewhere else so Miss Amy came, but they didn't teach 'cause they were fighting," Julia said.

"Do you remember what they were fighting about?" Beckett said.

"No, they were saying other words," Julia said after thinking for a moment.

"In Russian?" Castle said.

"French?" Beckett suggested when Julia shook her head no. "Alexis knows how to speak that one," she reminded her.

"I think so, but I don't know what they said either Mommy," Julia said apologetically.

"That's okay," Beckett said, kissing her forehead tenderly. "You definitely helped."

"I'm glad; will you find who hurt Madame Claude?" Julia asked them both.

"We will do our best," Beckett said as Castle suddenly held his arms out to Julia. She smiled slightly when the little girl wrapped her arms tightly around him and pressed her cheek to his chest.

"Will I dance ever again?" Julia whispered after they were quiet for a while.

"You will sweetie," Beckett promised, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Do you remember at all if Miss Amber and Madame Claude fought?"

"Yes, because Miss Amber knows Ballroom and Latin dances, and she wants to teach classes but Madame Claude said no," Julia said, frowning a little. "She only wants to dance ballet." She then looked worried and said, "I don't wanna be mean Mommy-" in a rush.

"It's okay," Beckett soothed her, stroking her hair.

"It is," Castle said when Julia looked at him. "That's not being mean; we know how much you want to dance Ballroom too."

"Do I have to go back to school now?" the little girl asked after another few minutes of silence.

"No, I'm letting you go back to Castle's place with Martha," Beckett said. "Do you have any homework?"

Shaking her head, Julia said, "What do I do until you come back?"

"You have things to do at his place remember," Beckett said, a little surprised by the question. She was startled when tears fell from Julia's eyes and asked, "What is it sweetie?"

"Can you come home? Both of you?" Julia asked tearfully.

"Your mom still needs to work, but I can come home with you both if you really want me to," Castle said.

"You have to work with Mommy," Julia said, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. "But will you come home?"

"Yes, we'll try not to be too late okay," Beckett said when her phone rang again. "Okay, Julia, was this one of the men you saw?" seeing the attachment to the text from Esposito. She showed her daughter the sketch of their newest suspect and wasn't too surprised when Julia nodded. "Let's go back, Martha's leaving right now and we need to get back to work," she told the two, standing up.

"I'll see you tonight sweetheart," Castle said as he stood and hugged Julia tightly. He shared a kiss with her before handing her to her mother.

Walking back to the Precinct, Beckett rubbed her daughter's back gently as she told her, "I love you Julia."

"I love you too Mommy, I wish you could come home," the little girl whispered to her.

"I know, but why don't you draw a picture for us while we're still working? You can give it to us when we get home," Beckett said.

"Okay, what do I draw?" Julia asked.

"Whatever you want," Castle said as they were nearing the steps and he saw his mother with Ryan standing at the base of them. "Thanks for talking to us Mother."

"Oh, anything to help your case," Martha said, watching as Beckett and Julia exchanged a kiss.

"You can take her back to my place, I called Mrs. Parker, she'll be waiting at her apartment for Julia," Beckett said, though she had told Martha she would be saying that in case they were in front of Esposito or Ryan.

"Of course," Martha said simply. "I'll see you later at home Richard."

"Thank you for your help," Ryan said as Castle hailed a cab. When Martha and Julia were on their way he asked Beckett, "What did she say?"

"She confirmed the sketch was one of the men that walked with the vic. But she also said both her daughters fought with her during school. Which is fantastic to hear," she said as they went back inside. "But that doesn't really help us out. But about the man, he's Russian; did Martha say anything else besides that basic information?"

"Not really, but she did mention he was polite, they both were," Ryan said. "And that they were dressed very well, and the more burly man in the footage was likely a bodyguard."

"Alright, then why don't we try to look at Russian embassies; not just the one here," Beckett said. "Is Espo looking for the father of the vic's daughters?"

"Right now," Ryan said with a nod.

"Okay, then what Castle and I can do is try and see if we can get in touch with his contact in the CIA and get as much information as possible from him," Beckett said, looking at her fiancé as the elevator stopped at the fourth floor.

"Give me a second to make the call," Castle said simply as he walked over to the break room.

"Espo," Beckett said as she went to his desk. "I'd like you to contact Amber Holsten first before you get too much further into your search and after Amy Holsten."

"Why not the older sister first?" Esposito asked, getting his phone.

"I get the feeling she'd be more open," Beckett said simply.

"Heard the older sister insulted Julia, how is she?" Esposito asked, holding off on dialing then as he remembered what he'd wanted to ask.

"She's alright, she understands though that someone killed her teacher and she asked me to find who that was," Beckett said. "So we need to do that."

"We will," Esposito said firmly before he put the phone to his ear.

"Do you need the picture?" Beckett asked Ryan.

Taking a picture with his phone, the detective shook his head saying, "Sure she was okay?"

"She will be," Beckett said, taking the sketch he was holding and going over to the break room. "Well?" she asked Castle.

"If he's got something pertinent he'll be here," he answered. "Oh, I should have mentioned, it's someone new."

"Why do you still need a CIA contact?" Beckett asked.

"I've kept in touch, just in case," Castle said. "I had the idea once of Nikki working with a CIA agent, but not sure that'll pan out really."

"Right," Beckett said, starting to get some coffee.

"I can handle that," Castle said easily, taking the cup she'd held from her. "You know, I was thinking about the vic's family, would her daughters know him?"

"Oh god," Beckett said. "I'm an idiot," she said before she turned and went to her desk.

Leaving the cup of coffee only partially filled, Castle ran after her and asked, "What is it?"

"There's only way to get into the ballet class," Beckett explained. "Ryan," she called as he was looking at his computer screen. "Remember?"

"Yeah, you… you sign in," Castle said in remembrance then. "What if he didn't sign in his real name?"

"It didn't seem like a clandestine meeting to me, especially since he went three days in a row to the same place," Beckett said.

"Maybe trying to convince her to do something," Castle suggested as his fiancée was on the phone. "Talking to her in a place where she's comfortable."

"Hello? Yes this is Detective Beckett; I'm calling because I'd like to know if it's possible for me to find out who signed in to go to the dance room at five for the last three days. You can? Great, I'll hold," Beckett said, breathing out in relief when the woman on the other end switched her to some elevator music. "I thought we'd have to call- yes, I'm here, a Gleb Kolchak. Okay, thank you very much."

Looking on as Beckett searched the name on her compter; Castle glanced over at the break room and saw a shadowy figure watching him. "I'll be back," he murmured to her.

"Castle," the man said. "Are you sure you needed to see me?"

"I did, do you know who this is?" Castle asked, showing him the sketch he'd taken from Beckett's desk.

"Yeah, Gleb Kolchak," the agent said simply. "Why?"

"What do you know about him?" Beckett asked, coming up behind Castle then.

"Well, he's the bodyguard of the Russian ambassador at the moment; Nicholas Potemkin. He's suspected of being former KGB, and an unsubstantiated report on him states he's been involved in at least ten deaths," the contact replied. "But keep in mind it's unsubstantiated."

"Does he have a violent past that's more established?" Castle asked.

"No, unfortunately we're not all that aware of this man, which is probably why he was chosen by Potemkin. We're keeping an eye on him, but he's been here for two years and we haven't observed him doing anything illegal," the man said.

"What about for the past three days at around five?" Beckett asked.

"Yes, he went to your daughter's school Detective, we saw him go in with the ambassador and leave from the playground where he had spoken with your victim about fifteen minutes later, all three days," the agent said.

"Do you have any idea what the ambassador would want with her?" Beckett asked.

"I'm afraid not, she's never been a person of interest to us," the agent said simply.

Nodding at that, Beckett turned and left Castle in the room as he watched her walk away. "Would you be able to find out at all about the ambassador's possible relationship to our vic? And an alibi for last night from about twelve to two?" he asked his contact.

"I may, tell the Detective I'll be sending her an e-mail," the agent said.

"Thanks," Castle said before he turned to leave. "You…" he said as he turned back to the man but found him gone already. Going out to Beckett he said, "I asked him to find some kind of relationship between the two."

"I wonder why your mother wasn't able to ID the ambassador," she commented.

"Want me to call her?" Castle asked. When she nodded he pulled out his phone and called his mother saying, "Sorry to call you now, but I'm wondering, the other man that was there, you didn't remember him at all Mother?" He listened for a moment before saying, "Okay, could I maybe send you a picture and would that jog your memory? Great."

Beckett quickly typed the Russian ambassador's name into her computer, and when she found a picture, moved the screen for him to take a picture with his phone. She listened to him then speak with his mother again saying, "That's him, and he… yeah, okay, thank you Mother, I'll see you later, bye." "Well?" she asked after he'd hung up.

"They saw the bodyguard longer than the ambassador, since he held the door open for them," Castle said. "She said the ambassador basically brushed past him, but she does remember him smiling at Julia. So… Beckett, I'm wondering now if this man is our killer or they're the killers."

"I know, I hope your informant has that e-mail…" she started to say before she saw her inbox.

"Is this guy our killer?" Ryan asked, having been standing by Castle as they'd spoken.

"Not the ambassador, according to this, there's no relationship between the ambassador or bodyguard with our vic. And they saw the ambassador at a dinner party for the ambassador from Italy, apparently the two are friends," Beckett said, reading. "But the bodyguard was not with Mr. Potemkin last night, so we need to get a hold of him, discover where he was," she told Ryan. "Call the embassy; I'll try Kolchak's personal number and any others I can get."

While Beckett was back on her phone again, Castle went to the murder board to write out the new information they had for her. "Anything?" he asked as Esposito walked over to him.

"Not really," the detective said. "This guy's pretty much a ghost, though talking with his youngest daughter, found out that the vic kicked him out of their lives when she was too young to remember. They haven't had any contact with him since then. Here's a picture of him, about six months before he lost everything."

"The older daughter has his eyes," Castle commented with a slight nod. "Have you tried homeless shelters?"

"I've sent out a message to them, but he could look pretty different now, so it's a shot in the dark. What about the two men?" Esposito asked.

"They're working on it," Castle said, nodding to Beckett as she hung up her phone.

"No luck there," she said, coming over to them.

"I got a hold of the ambassador's secretary," Ryan said, walking to them. "Mr. Potemkin is right now in DC; he flew this morning; and with his second bodyguard. All they know about Kolchak is that he requested a few days off; starting last night after he took the ambassador back to the embassy."

"So he had the opportunity to kill our vic," Beckett mused. "But the motive's a little foggy, because I'm pretty sure if he was a possible father of the babies, the CIA would have known."

"I'm still wondering what these two wanted with a ballet teacher," Esposito said.

"Well, telling the secretary why I needed to know the whereabouts of the ambassador, she said she would call him and let him know he needed to get in touch with us," Ryan explained.

"I wonder if he'd know where Kolchak is," Beckett said. "Okay, so we need to look at both him and Costa, we'll take the latter."

"And what are we looking for exactly? Anything, everything?" Esposito asked.

"Pretty much, actually, I think I'd like to talk to Martine first," Beckett said. "To get some other names and call around to see if anyone else can think of another suspect." The two detectives left, and she went back to her desk telling Castle, "You can start searching."

"On it," he said quickly as he looked at the internet on his phone while she picked up her desk phone. Seeing a number of hits for the ambassador, he sighed under his breath, settling in for a long afternoon as Beckett spoke with their former suspect next to him.

* * *

"Castle! You came early," Julia said in surprise as she watched him walk inside from the couch.

"I did, and your mom is still working right now, but she's trying her hardest to get back soon," Castle explained as he hung up his coat. He picked up Julia; who'd run to him; and hugged her tightly as he carried her to the kitchen asking, "How're you doing?"

"Kay, I'm sad though," Julia answered truthfully.

"Mother, were you planning on taking her out?" Castle asked as he saw she was dressed up.

"It's why I called you," Martha said simply. "But of course the call gets dropped before I can tell you why; I got invited to Nobu for dinner, so I hope you don't mind taking her for the rest of the night."

"Of course not," Castle said. "Have fun."

"I will," Martha said as they walked to the door. "And you two too, make sure he behaves before your mother returns Julia."

Giggling a little Julia said, "I will. Bye Martha."

"Bye," Castle called as his mother left. "Okay, so are you hungry at all, it is pretty late."

"Little bit," Julia said as Castle set her down. She took his hand as they went to the kitchen and she asked, "What do we have?"

"I was thinking just some grilled cheese and tomato soup," Castle said. "Want to sit here while I'm cooking?" When she nodded he got her coloring book and crayons before he set her in the tall chair. The meal was very easy to make, and he was soon helping Julia set the table before they sat down to eat. "So," he said once they'd eaten a little of the soup and sandwiches. "Want to watch a movie once we're finished?"

"Can I?" Julia asked.

"Yes, or until your mom comes home," Castle said. He opened his mouth to continue, when he heard the sound of a key in the lock. "Or maybe not."

"Mommy!" Julia cried, running to her.

"Sweetie," Beckett said in a kind of relieved tone she had no idea where it came from. She knelt down to hug her daughter tightly, stroking her hair as Julia pressed her cheek to hers. "How are you?"

"I'm kay, Castle asked that too," Julia said. "He made dinner too Mommy."

"How did you get back so soon?" he asked as Beckett stood and he took her bag to put away.

"Ryan and Espo, they were urging me to see Julia, and I really tried to hold out a little more, but I couldn't wait anymore," Beckett replied. She leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead before she said, "Really, we're at a standstill anyways."

"I thought you might be," Castle said with a nod. "Can I get you some soup?"

"And a sammich," Julia said quickly as she tugged on her mother's hand to lead her to the table. "Are you tired Mommy?"

"No, I just wanted to see you," Beckett said, sitting and pulling Julia up onto her lap. She hugged her daughter again before she realized Castle had walked up to them. "Thank you," she said as she took the glass of wine he handed her. "Do you want to talk about school before you came to see us?" she asked Julia after taking a sip and letting the warmth of the wine spread through her.

"Yeah, me and Celia read from the board, three new words we learned to read," Julia said as Castle gave Beckett a plate with a bowl and sandwich on it. She took the half of sandwich on her plate he gave to her, and after swallowing her bite said, "And then we counted with the little plastic bears."

"Sounds like fun, what about the flowers? Which one did you learn about today?" Castle asked.

"Mrs. Clayton said something different today," Julia said, suddenly eager. "She told us that we have flowers for months our birthdays are in. Like we have different stones."

"That's right, did she tell you which one you have?" Beckett asked, kissing the top of Julia's head.

"Yeah, mine are daffodils, they're pretty yellow ones," Julia said. "And the people in England have some that are different and some that are the same as ours. Oh, and we drew a picture of our flowers too. Can I go get it to show you Mommy?"

"After you eat," Beckett said, getting her bowl of soup. "Anything else today?"

Julia shook her head as she was swallowing a spoonful of soup, and after she set the spoon back in the bowl she asked, "Are you still working?"

Guessing that meant if they had solved the case, Castle quickly said, "We are, but we'll hopefully be finished soon. I was asking her before you came in if she wanted to watch a movie," he directed to Beckett.

"We can, but as soon as it's over you'll go to bed," she said to her daughter in a slightly firm tone of voice.

Making a face, Julia then nodded, and finished her sandwich as her mother and Castle talked about Easter. She looked up when they mentioned her and said, "Does the Easter bunny come here Mommy?"

"I think he will," Castle said, glancing at Beckett. "Or your house, wherever you are I know he'll go."

"Kay, do I give him cookies and milk too?" Julia asked.

"That's just Santa," Beckett said. "The Easter bunny just leaves eggs, not big presents," she further explained, hoping her daughter wasn't expecting gifts.

"Oh, that's what Celia said," Julia said with a nod as her mother set her down since they were all finished with the meal. "But I don't give him something for a thank you?"

"He knows already, and he's more about finding the eggs," Castle said. When Julia just looked up at him in slight confusion he continued saying, "He knows you're going to need to find the eggs he hides, so he has a lot of fun doing that, making sure you really have to work to see where he put them."

"I like finding better," Julia said seriously, making Castle and Beckett laugh briefly.

"That doesn't surprise me," Beckett said. "Go pick a movie while we clean up okay?"

"Anything at all?" Castle asked when Julia had disappeared into his office where her movies were.

"No, we tried to get the footage from the street where the vic's building is, but they won't have it ready until tomorrow because they have to pull it from their archives. Do you really think someone would go back though?" Beckett asked, since he'd had the idea of the killer wanting to keep tabs on the investigation at the beginning until they knew the investigators were not on his trail.

"It's a hunch," Castle said. "Nothing on Kolchak and Costa still?"

"I got desperate before I left, and called the CIA, asked them if there was anything on Kolchak," Beckett said. "Of course, I haven't heard back. And as for Costa, he's a ghost, none of his friends has seen him lately, and the homeless shelters that I had the three of us call so far never saw him. I brought what we have so far back with me. I wanted to take another look at it after a meal and spending some time with Julia."

"Good idea," Castle said. He was going to say more, but Julia came out to them and he said, "What did you pick?"

"You can see when we watch the movie," Julia said with a slight smile. "Oh! Mommy, can I show you the picture now?"

"Go ahead sweetie," Beckett said, not surprised when her daughter took her hand and pulled her to her backpack that was in the closet.

"See?" Julia said, taking a picture out.

"It's very yellow," Castle said, having joined them since he was finished washing everything.

"Yeah, I wanted to give it to you 'cause you have the same flower as me," Julia said, biting her lower lip a few times.

"Thanks," Castle said, taking the picture before pulling her into a tight hug. "I'll keep this in my office okay?"

"That's a good place," Julia said, nodding. "Can we watch the movie now?"

"Get it set up," Beckett said, smiling slightly at the two. "I'll make some popcorn."

"What about coffee?" Castle asked as he picked up Julia as she scrambled against him, trying to climb up.

"I can handle it, go ahead," Beckett said.

"There's the movie," Julia said, pointing to the case under the TV.

"I shouldn't be too surprised you wanted to watch this one now," Castle said, seeing she'd picked _Despicable Me 2_. He kissed her temple as he tried to put her down but she wouldn't let him. "I have to put the movie in," he explained to her when he tried a second time but she shook her head.

"I can help," Julia said quickly with a smile.

Beckett walked in to find Julia closing the movie case as Castle grabbed the remote with his free hand. "Are we ready?" she asked, setting the tray with the popcorn and drinks down on the desk. She then took her bag off her arm and set it aside there as well, but further down from the tray.

"Yeah, can I sit with you Mommy?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Come here," Beckett said. She took the mugs Castle handed them and the bowl of popcorn for her and Julia to share. Holding her daughter close as the movie began, she was relieved to hear her giggling from time to time as they watched. She was afraid Julia would be quiet and morose after what had happened that day. But she had to wonder if the little girl would end up having nightmares that night instead; hoping that wasn't the case.

When the movie finished, Castle turned off the TV to Julia's groan and he smiled as Beckett stood up, shaking her head. "Your mom said," he told her as they headed to the stairs.

"I wanted you to forget," Julia said, talking to them both.

"Are you going to call Alexis?" Beckett asked then.

"I wanna talk to her," Julia said eagerly.

"I'm calling her tomorrow, she has plans for tonight with Diana and Dawn in the city," Castle said. "So I'll join you to tuck her in."

"Who do you want to tuck you in?" Beckett asked her daughter.

"Castle," Julia said quickly before she was transferred to him. She giggled as he bounced her slightly against his hip and she kissed his cheek saying, "It's too late to ride a horsie."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked. He smiled when Julia nodded, kissing her temple as they stepped into Alexis' room. He set the little girl down on the bed and hugged her as she stood on the mattress. "Sweet dreams Julia, I love you," he told her as she was embracing him around the neck. He nearly sighed when she only nodded her head, slightly frustrated that she still wouldn't say the three words back. He knew that she thought them; he didn't imagine she would kiss him and want to be around him too if she didn't; but he was still not forcing her into saying anything she wasn't ready to tell him. He helped her lay down and tucked the covers up to her waist; how he and Beckett handled putting her to bed together; and then leaned down to share a kiss with her before he stepped back to let his fiancée say goodnight.

"I love you Julia," Beckett said, stroking her daughter's hair. "Sleep tight okay? And sweet dreams."

"I love you too Mommy, and I hope you have good dreams, but you will 'cause Castle's there right?" Julia asked, holding her Stitch doll up to her face.

"I think so," Beckett said with a smile before kissing her daughter. She kissed her forehead and pressed her own to it before she finally pulled away, finishing tucking her in. "Good?" she asked.

"Yeah, night Mommy, Castle," Julia said as her mother stood up.

"Night Julia," Castle said, Beckett echoing him as they went over to the doorway to watch her fall asleep. As soon as she had, he closed the door and followed his fiancée out when he heard her phone make a noise indicating she had an e-mail. "What is it?" he asked when he saw her confused expression.

"I think you were right Castle," Beckett said, growing serious. "That was an e-mail from the CIA, they just said that Kolchak is a possible spy for the Russian government; and he and the ambassador were probably trying to recruit our vic to work for them."


	5. Be My Somebody Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Be My Somebody by Norah Jones, from her album Not Too Late.

"It makes perfect sense," Castle said as he handed Beckett her refilled cup. "There are some diplomat's daughters in Julia's ballet class, and the vic would obviously have to talk to the parents about their progress through the class. Maybe they were going to get her to try and get close, get invited to their homes."

"I highly doubt it Castle," Beckett said as she set down her coffee with a sigh. "Remember what the CIA said in their message, that Kolchak was a possible spy. Key word is possible. If they're not aware of it-"

"Then he's really good," Castle countered. "They wanted her to be Mata Hari, who was-"

"I know who Mata Hari is, but she wasn't even really a spy, she just took the money given to her to spy on the Germans," Beckett said.

"Oh, that's true… but that would give a motive actually. They wanted her to spy for them, but she said no three times, so they killed her so she couldn't tell anyone what they were asking her," Castle suggested.

"Okay, then tell me this Castle, why would they meet with her inside the classroom, all three days? They knew it had a security camera; they took her outside, but why not wait around until she left and talked to her outside the school? Outside her apartment?" Beckett asked.

"I told you, to make her more comfortable so she would agree to their proposition," Castle said.

Opening her mouth to speak, Beckett heard her phone ringing, quickly picking it up. She saw the number was an unfamiliar one to her, so she answered cautiously.

"Detective," a man with a heavy Russian accent stated. "I am Nicholas Potemkin, I understand from my secretary in New York you wish to speak with me."

"Ambassador," Beckett said, getting Castle's attention with that as she put her phone to speaker. "Yes, we wanted to talk to you about your bodyguard-"

"Gleb is here with me right now," Potemkin said simply. "He has been here in Washington DC since yesterday afternoon."

"We have nothing to indicate he traveled-" Beckett started to say before she was cut off again.

"I am afraid I need to explain this from the beginning," Potemkin said. "I have a younger sister, who recently traveled to Marseilles for vacation. When she returned home, she found out three months later that she was pregnant. I come to find out she dated a young man, who is the father. He had refused to marry her, and I could not allow that to happen to my sister of course. When I tried to find him myself, I discovered he'd come here to the United States, but he disappeared and I was unable to find his exact whereabouts. So I spoke to his cousin."

"Claude Démodé?" Castle said.

"The teacher, she is his cousin on her mother's side, I went to her three times, begging her to speak with Oliver, to beg him to do the right thing for my sister," Potemkin said.

"And she refused?" Beckett asked.

" _Nyet_ , she does not know him, so I contacted a friend at the FBI, and as a favor to me she located Oliver before I sent Gleb to keep an eye on him to keep him from slipping from me before I could see him," Potemkin said. "And that is why I have come here to Washington, to speak with the man now I have nothing pressing with my job. We were nowhere near Ms. Démodé last night, as I was at a dinner, and Gleb was here."

"Is there any way we can confirm that Mr. Kolchak was in DC?" Beckett asked.

"Of course, he flew, United Airlines under the name Paul Faust," Potemkin said easily. "And he stayed at the Regency Hotel and Suites."

"Where was he between twelve and two last night?" Castle said.

"In his hotel room, you should be able to confirm that," Potemkin said. "Is there anything else you wish to know Detective?"

"I think that's enough," Beckett said. "Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Ambassador." After the man had said his goodbye and hung up she looked at Castle.

"It was a good theory at the time," he said defensively.

Rolling her eyes Beckett sighed and said, "I'll look at this tomorrow, but I'm about ready to set these two aside."

"Yeah, but I wonder why the CIA wasn't watching Kolchak go to the airport," Castle said.

"He knew they were following him. I bet he lost whoever was watching him so he could get to this Oliver without alerting him," Beckett said.

"So we turn to Costa, who's nowhere to be found," Castle said.

"There's something I'm not getting, if the vic and Costa separated a long time ago, would she let him into her apartment?" Beckett said. "Remember, there was no sign of forced entry anywhere."

"That's what's bothering me too," Castle said. "But I had an idea. Do you have any clue what she was doing before she taught ballet?"

Shaking her head, Beckett went onto her tablet, searching the vic's name and she showed Castle what came up as they were sitting in the armchairs in his office together. "She was with the same troupe her daughter's with until she retired," she said as they read the school's information on the vic.

"Okay, I'm wondering if maybe she ended up getting a role that someone else wanted, and that lead to jealousy that didn't stop even though she left the troupe about five years ago," Castle said.

"Interesting, it would make sense why she was posed after she was murdered," Beckett said. "What about the position to teach for the school? Mt. Surrey's actually a pretty well known school in the dance community."

"Good teachers," Castle said, nodding. "It's worth a shot."

"It is," Beckett said thoughtfully. She sat up suddenly, hearing the sound of a screamed, "Mommy!"

At the same time as his fiancée, Castle hurriedly got out of his chair, running for the stairs to Alexis' room. He wasn't too surprised to see the little girl sitting up in bed, crying heavily.

"Sweetie," Beckett said taking her into her arms. Her heart almost broke when she heard the sound of Julia's sobs, and she gently stroked her hair, rocking her back and forth before looking at Castle.

Going to the bed, he sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around them both; something they did when Julia had a nightmare after her psychiatrist had suggested it after the plane crash in January. "It's okay Julia, we're here," he whispered, kissing the back of her head as her crying slowed down slightly.

When she was sure the little girl had stopped crying a little bit later, Beckett pulled back as Castle let go of them and asked, "Want to tell me what you saw sweetie?"

"I dunno," Julia said, shuddering slightly as she looked back at Castle. "It was dark, I don't remember what else."

Getting up to grab a tissue, Castle sat back down and wiped her cheeks saying, "Were you at school?'

"Yes, I was, oh, I was at ballet, and it… there was a scary man," Julia said, tensing up then.

"The men you saw didn't hurt your teacher," Beckett said quickly. "They only talked to her."

"They did?" Julia asked, almost tearfully.

"They did, so you don't need to worry about them okay," Beckett assured her.

"No one's going to come though," Castle said, reaching out for her. When she climbed over to him he cuddled her close and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. "Your mom's here you know."

"You too," Julia said, looking up him.

"So am I," Castle agreed. He heard her sigh and then asked, "Want to try and sleep again sweetheart?"

"Yeah," Julia said, sounding a little weary. She shared a kiss with Castle before he slid her under the covers. "Are you gonna stay Mommy?" she asked.

"I'm not going anywhere until we need to take you to school," Beckett said, smoothing some hairs on the side of her head. She leaned down and kissed her daughter, pulling away when Julia spoke in an almost whimpering tone of voice that made her pause.

"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" she asked, looking at first her mother and then Castle.

"Of course," Beckett said before she glanced at her fiancé. When he nodded she took off her boots and slid under the covers with her daughter as Castle did the same on the other side of Julia. "Go to sleep sweetie," she murmured soothingly as they lay on either side of her. She held the little girl in her arms as he lay on his side, stroking the top of Julia's head.

Though it was dark, Julia's eyes soon adjusted and she glanced at her mother before looking at Castle. She closed her eyes for a moment, her cheeks a little red with her request. As her mother had been comforting her, she had remembered something Celia had told her when they talked about having nightmares. Her friend had told her about how her parents would stay with her until she fell asleep again, and she would not have another nightmare for the rest of the night. She had told Celia she did that with her mother, but had suddenly felt jealous of her friend for the first time. She glanced at Castle then, and squirmed a little before he and Beckett murmured soothingly to her, thinking she was unsettled about falling asleep again.

Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes then, as she realized she had what her friend had told her. She was safe, because not only was her mother there with her, but Castle as well and she knew they would both protect her. Julia smiled slightly, and tried to remember that feeling of safety so she wouldn't have another nightmare as she felt her body relax from fatigue and yawned slightly, knowing she was going to fall asleep soon.

With them both watching her, Julia stretched her legs and then closed her eyes slowly, breathing out a sigh before she soon nodded off. Castle and Beckett stayed a little longer; to make sure she was asleep before they got out of the bed.

"Are you okay?" Castle asked when they were back in his office after putting their shoes on.

"Yeah, just, tired," Beckett said absently, going to the desk and looking at her pad of paper she'd been making notes on. She was surprised when all of a sudden he was hugging her, and she tensed, wondering why he'd done that, when she relaxed, embracing him back. "Do I seem too clingy right now?" she asked as she pressed her cheek to his shoulder.

"Slightly, but I think I know the reason why," Castle said, pulling back enough so he could look at her.

"Almost a year," Beckett said.

"I don't know Kate, if she hasn't regressed anything before Queens since then I don't think she will now," Castle said.

"We can't really know that," Beckett said.

"Well, it's understandable you're being clingy as you put it with a year since Queens coming up. I am too… just with you," Castle said.

"You had a nightmare again last night," Beckett commented in response to that.

"Yeah… I can't remember which one though," Castle said. "Did I wake you up?"

"I got you to calm down," Beckett replied. "So if you don't remember then that's why."

"Wait, I do now," Castle said, frowning slightly.

"I don't think you really need to worry about me still," Beckett told him as she knew it was his nightmare stemming from what had happened to her a year before. "I won't be letting myself get into that kind of situation again."

"I hope not," Castle said. He was tempted to kiss her, but he could see his desk out of the corner of his eye and he knew they needed to finish. "Should we get back to the case?"

Beckett didn't reply, only let go of him before she sat down in her chair again before she scratched out the names of the ambassador and bodyguard that were on her paper. "So we're left; at the moment with Costa. With the succinylcholine, I think he might be able to obtain some still."

"He's a former doctor… although he then became a lawyer, but do you think he could get a former co-worker to hand some over?" Castle asked, knowing what she'd thought of.

"He couldn't pay anyone for it," Beckett said. "But it depends on what we can get from his former hospital and then look into others. And there's her position with the troupe," she commented, writing down what they needed to do the next day when they were back at the station. "But one thing that bothers me about Costa-" she began.

"The babies," Castle reminded her.

"I know, but remember I told you what Martine had told me, they hadn't announced the pregnancy yet," Beckett said. "And as far as he knew, no one but they knew about it; we might have to set aside that theory of another possible father of the babies killing our vic. So what other motive would he have besides her kicking him out of her life and their daughters'?"

"What if he went to her for money and she wouldn't help him," Castle asked.

"It's a possibility, but what we need right now is Costa himself," Beckett said, putting her elbows on the desk and putting her face in her hands. "Without him we're stuck," she said though her voice was muffled.

Watching her, Castle got up and left the office, not surprised when she didn't even react to that. Returning, he set something down on the desk next to her pad of paper, and then waited for her to finish writing a word. Grabbing her wrist carefully he knelt next to her and said, "We'll solve this case."

"You were there when she asked if we would find who did this," Beckett said simply, letting him take the pen out of her hand and set it down.

"I know, and I want to find who this is so our little girl will be okay too," Castle assured her. "But we won't be much help if we're burned out from putting too much into the case. And she should be okay now."

"I hope so," Beckett said, watching as he stood and made her follow him.

"Drink this, and I'll clean up okay?" Castle asked.

Taking a quick swallow of half of the scotch he'd poured for her, Beckett handed him the rest of it in the glass, and continued getting everything on the desk straightened and put away in her bag. He joined her after finishing off the drink, and they soon had everything set before she followed him out of the office. "You know you can't really hide when you want it," she teased him as she went to his room once her bag was in the closet.

"No, but at least this doesn't annoy you so badly you say no," Castle said, closing and locking the door behind him. He went to her as she stood at the dresser, stopping her from reaching for her sweater. With her looking at him, a slight, barely visible smirk on her face, he took her hand and led her to the bed where he made her sit on the edge.

Watching as he removed her boots, Beckett reached down and put her hand on his shoulder saying, "Don't make this all about me."

Castle didn't reply to that, standing up as she did the same, and he allowed himself to wrap his arms around her, kissing her as soon as she had her arms about his neck. He held her tightly to him then as he slipped his tongue into her mouth for a moment before slowly pulling away. Breathing a little hard he looked into her eyes before he let go of her, grabbing for her sweater and pulling it up off her.

Beckett could understand why he became a little frantic then, her own hands reaching for his clothes and divesting him of them as they kissed whenever they could. They were very quick and rough, but she didn't really care, as once they were both naked he was pushing her back onto the bed. When he leaned down and proceeded to kiss at her neck, she arched it quickly to give him more access. She was a little confused as to why he wasn't really trying to start, but then realized he wanted to work her up to it. She wanted to tell him it was unnecessary, but she was enjoying his ministrations too much as he slid his lips down to her chest.

Pausing before he could get down any further than the hollow of her throat, Castle looked up at Beckett, and moved back up to her lips. He felt her hold on him; almost desperate with the way her fingers dug into his shoulders. He knew she was ready, but wanted a little more before finishing what he'd started. When they pulled apart to breathe he whispered into her ear, lightly nipping at her lobe; making her jump slightly against him in response. He was gratified when she moved to sit up on her knees with him since it was partially what he'd requested of her.

Beckett watched as Castle's hand ran down the sides of her body, making her bite her lower lip as her skin trembled in response to his touch. He then leaned down to kiss her, but before they could get close enough to do so, she cupped his cheeks and stopped him. "You're not just doing this to tease me," she stated, holding him back from breaking from her hold.

"No, believe me, I wait or delay, I'm torturing myself," Castle said, letting out a sort of nervous laugh as they were both doing that to him at that moment.

"Okay," Beckett said simply, studying his face and able to tell that he was telling the truth. She wasn't too surprised when he bent his head to her neck to kiss it again. What had her moaning slightly in joy was the way he brushed her hair out of the way over her shoulder. His fingers were just barely skimming her skin, and she was tilting her head back, not even seeing what she was looking at as those same digits skimmed her right breast, sending an explosion through her body in response.

Moving back so he could look at her, Castle slid his fingers of his free hand through her hair, making her tilt her head towards him. "I wasn't planning on moving," he warned her, since they were still on their knees in the middle of the bed.

Smiling at that, Beckett took his hand from her hair and kissed the palm before pressing her lips to the tip of each finger. That done, she brought it to her breast, not surprised he immediately brought his other hand up to her other mound. "I can move you around if I need to," she reminded him then, her voice faltering slightly as he started to just barely caress her. "But I don't think it's needed."

"No," was all that Castle could say as he bent his head. He kissed a trail from her collarbone to her breasts, and nuzzled first one and then the other, cupping them carefully. He could feel her trembling slightly in response, and he glanced up at her while he was closing his mouth around her right nipple, not surprised to see the look of ecstasy that was across her face. He shuddered in pleasure at the thought that again, it was him that was doing it to her. He then focused back on her, suckling at her as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. It was then that he realized what had started out as a way to distract her for the time being from their case had become his need to have her. And not just have her, but show her that he did; and badly.

Stroking Castle's hair as he made her gasp out his name and whisper out instructions to him she couldn't remember saying a second after the words were out of her mouth, Beckett finally couldn't take it anymore, and she took his head into her hands. She pulled him away from her long enough so she could look into his eyes, and she drew him down to her right breast. Her teeth caught her lower lip the second he brushed his lips against them, and she remembered she'd told him not to tease her before; when he was doing that right then. But if he'd asked if she wanted to stop, she would have been unable to say a word as he wrapped his arms around her tightly to keep her close as he went a little crazy over her chest.

Groaning against her skin, Castle finally had to force himself away from her, but instead of pulling away completely, he was kissing her directly on the lips, taking her hand in his. He knew she was confused as he pulled their hands down, but didn't stop until they were between her legs. The first brush of their fingertips and he was breaking off their kiss with a gasp of air. As damp as his skin became, he realized that he was teasing her, and decided then he'd shown her his appreciation for her and her body for long enough. Grabbing onto her hips, he moved her around until she was above him, and together they moved to couple swiftly; neither of them ready to wait longer than they needed to.

Hearing a kind of sigh in the room, Beckett wasn't sure who'd done that, but guessed that it was her from the way Castle was looking up at her. She quickly began to move, feeling easily that he was in the same predicament she'd been. "You were right," she breathed as she cupped his cheeks again. "You tortured yourself at the same time."

"I know, but… it was… was worth it," Castle groaned as he felt her moving with him, very slowly at that moment. His hands on her back were caressing her skin, unable to help leaning down to press his lips along her shoulder, brushing along the silky flesh. He looked back up at her; not surprised when she pulled him up to her for a kiss. That was more passionate, their tongues fighting for a moment inside his mouth before he pulled away. He felt her following him, but stopped her with a quick kiss to her lower lip. He was going to tease her, push her slightly, but he was distracted and immediately took her lip with his teeth, nibbling gently on it.

Beckett was soon able to turn that into a kiss, her lower lip aching from him, and as they kissed, slid her nails carefully over his scalp. She felt his grip on her momentarily tighten, and it made her jump against him, making him thrust a little harder against her than he'd been doing before. By then she was leaning back, looking at him, and she moved her hands from his hair to his face, stroking his cheeks lovingly as they stared at each other.

"Let me… watch you," Castle finally said. He saw the slightly surprised expression on Beckett's face, and stopped moving. He grabbed her hips in case she tried to stop herself and he looked down in between their bodies as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They were in shadow between them, but he could see her still moving, her hips thrusting out before pulling back against him. Groaning in pleasure at the sight of her, he began to move again, harder that time as he didn't want her to not feel what he was as their lovemaking continued while they kissed yet again.

Quickly working to match his pace, Beckett held on tightly to Castle, letting his tongue search her mouth for a moment before she brushed her own against his. She felt his hands clenching on her tightly, and she pulled away then to both breathe and look into his eyes. She stroked his cheeks for a moment before they pressed their foreheads together. Their breath mixed in between them, and she could almost understand what she had heard from so many girlfriends before. There was a moment when you were lucky enough to find a man that was your other half; that when you were together, you were one. In that moment, she could believe it, their breath disappearing into each other's mouths though they couldn't feel it. Their bodies coupled together tightly, moving as one. She kissed him briefly on the lips before brushing hers across his, wishing she could tell him how she felt. But when he kissed her as hard as he could, she guessed he sensed in the way he always seemed to know what she wanted, what she needed, what she was thinking; exactly as he was doing at that moment.

Kissing Beckett's neck, Castle reached in between them, gently running his fingers over her clit. He breathed in deeply as her thighs suddenly tightened around him, and it affected him inside of her. "Do that again," he said, not sure where the heavier timbre of his voice came from. But if he had to guess, he knew the answer was likely the woman in his arms, moving haphazardly to try and pleasure him. And he had to return the favor, not really feeling like he could take what she gave him so willingly without giving her back something equal in return. "Tell me," he said then, getting her attention though she was trying to keep thrusting and at the same time squeeze her thighs for him.

"Tell you what?" Beckett asked, startled by the request and a little confused as she was trying to concentrate on other things at that moment.

"Anything, what you want me to do to you," Castle said simply. He watched as she bit her lower lip before she shook her head. "What?" he asked, wondering what that meant exactly.

"Anything, do what you want," Beckett whispered, her lips against his. She could feel him shuddering again, and in the next instant he was grabbing her hips, moving her harder down on him, more forcefully than she'd been moving down. She nearly screamed the first time, but it managed to come out as nothing but a heavy expelling of air. The second time was a moan, and the third time they were moving so hard together there was a mix of noises inside the room.

A mixture of the bed under them being moved by them, their hips slapping against each other, and their groans of pleasure together. A mix that would have been obscene if they had heard much more of it other than a background of their pleasure, the roaring in their ears in response to what they were feeling nearly deafening.

Beckett was unable to hold out for any longer, and her body tensed up so hard she completely stopped moving. She gasped out and moaned Castle's name before her own name on his lips joined hers in a short amount of time. Out of instinct, her body had gotten her back to thrusting, and she moved until suddenly stopping completely; not sure when that was. What she did know, was that she was being laid on her back on the bed, her body still throbbing in the ecstasy that he'd given her so readily, and she felt a shiver go through her at that thought as she could feel his body curling around hers almost protectively.

"Okay?" Castle finally asked as they were silent for a while.

"Yeah, why are you laying like that?" Beckett asked, turning towards him.

"Do you want me to stop?" Castle asked instead of answering.

"No, it's up to you, but I'm just trying to figure out what's going on you feel the need to hold me like this," Beckett replied.

Shrugging, Castle lay on his back and wasn't surprised when she quickly moved to follow him. He looked at her and then sighed saying, "I'm just trying not to remember that nightmare. And also what we talked about earlier."

"How we're coming up to a year since Queens?" Beckett asked. "I'm okay myself, I just worry about Julia." She then suddenly smiled, making Castle look at her in a little surprise. "You are an incredibly sappy man you know that," she told him.

"Why?" Castle asked. "What I did just now?"

"What? No," Beckett said, shaking her head. "What you told me to get me to stop working. About Julia."

"Well, it didn't make you say no to me after," Castle said.

Groaning at that, Beckett lay on her back and said, "I should have kicked you when my boots were still on."

"You're still so violent to me, I get the feeling Alcatraz-" Castle started to say.

Covering his mouth her hand, Beckett said, "Do not say I was possessed, I'll kick you out to the couch." When he started to speak behind her palm she said, "I don't care that this is your place, I will do it."

"I don't doubt it," Castle said, pulling her hand away. "Okay, so I'll stop saying that, if you say one thing."

"Depends on what that one thing is," Beckett said.

"That you thought what I said was very sweet and you were touched… and that you want me," Castle said.

Rolling her eyes, Beckett quickly said the first two before she cupped his cheeks saying, "You are also hungry for attention aren't you?"

"Pretty much, you should be used to that by now," Castle said.

"Slightly," Beckett said, her hand starting to caress his cheek. She wasn't surprised when he closed the gap between them, and their lips met tenderly. She was taken aback to realize there was something about his kiss, and she hurriedly pulled away saying, "No."

"No what?" Castle asked, surprised at that.

"You need to forget it Castle," Beckett said firmly.

"It's very hard to, when you see what I see…" Castle trailed off, shuddering for a moment as he remembered what his nightmare had contained the night before. Every time there was something different, something that added on to the horror of what he was being forced to see by his own mind. That night, she had been screaming, and just before the dream had faded away he'd heard her yell his name in a horrible voice that made him suddenly pull her to him as tightly as could. "Is there a better way to get rid of these than to not think about it? Because forgetting about it is not working," he said, pressing his cheek to hers.

"I don't think so," Beckett said, a little startled by how he was holding her. She could only guess what he had remembered, and she turned her head so she could look into his eyes. She opened her mouth to speak when she stopped herself, seeing what he had dreamed the night before. She reached up and cupped his cheek before kissing him, very gently to see how he would respond. He was still clutching at her almost, but he relaxed into the kiss slowly and she coaxed his tongue into her mouth. She had her way to help him as he suddenly shifted against her, and she groaned slightly when she felt his hips rubbing against hers.

Feeling a little strange doing that, Castle pulled away, thinking she would want to sleep. But he was a little surprised when Beckett pressed her hands on his back, and held him in place. Staring at her, he picked up on her desire, her eyes nearly black by then. He was grateful, he was feeling the same way and wasn't sure he could have just rolled onto his back to nod off. He jumped a little when she reached in between them, her fingers curling around his erection. "You…" he started to say though it came out as more of a groan.

"Don't," Beckett whispered. They both moved a little, and he was sliding into her body, making her tremble for a moment in pleasure before the skin of their hips pressed flush together. She breathed a little deeply as she wrapped her legs around his waist, moaning as he began to thrust against her. What had her moaning though was how he did it, very slow, very carefully. And exactly as she had wanted to start out with though she hadn't said a word to him about it. She drew him to her for another kiss then, sliding her fingers through his hair as it became passionate quickly.

When they had no choice but to part so they could breathe, Castle went down to her neck and began kissing around her pulse, feeling it racing under his lips. He pressed his face there for a moment, before drifting down to her shoulder, trailing his tongue over to her collarbone as she began to shake underneath him. Biting at the very end of her shoulder, he pulled away enough to breathe against her damp skin. It was no surprise when she shuddered again, and he reached up with one hand to stroke her other shoulder before making his way down to her breast.

Reaching down as he cupped it, Beckett squeezed his hand and looked up at him as he stared into her eyes then. "You… just…" she tried to say, but he suddenly began to move a little faster against her, and she had no choice but to follow him, letting go of him to hold onto his shoulders tightly.

"I know why you did this," Castle commented, barely keeping his voice from shaking as he moved at a different angle suddenly. "You want me to forget."

"I want you to remember what you have," Beckett said, trying not to moan but unable to as he was moving even harder suddenly. She had to scramble to catch up, but finally they were even, and she stroked his hair with one hand as she told him, "What we have is what is real Castle, not… not your nightmare…" she ended up trailing off before she could finish, pulling him down to her for another kiss as a rush of pleasure went through her body intensely, almost leaving her breathless.

Kissing her deeply as a way to tell her he agreed, Castle took her right leg with his hand, pulling it up further against his side as he wanted to find a way to show his gratitude to her trying to help him forget besides just saying it. There was also the fact that he was a little too occupied to say it that made him act. He broke off the kiss with a groan as he sank further into her, and he had to get a hold of himself before he went back to her lips. That time though he kept them brushing together as he whispered, "I love you Kate."

"I love you Castle…" Beckett managed to respond. She took his kiss then, parting her lips for him as his tongue ran across her lower one. She suddenly felt them moving, not surprised when he pushed her so they were sitting up together. She needed to take over then, and did so easily after having done so many times before. Their kiss ended a little after that, and she stroked his hair as they pressed their foreheads together, breath meeting in between them again. She wasn't sure how long they were in that position, but it felt like very little time before he was moving them around and she was on her back again. That time she slid her leg high up around his side as the other held him around the legs, hoping she could keep him in place as they thrust together again.

Brushing his lips against Beckett's, Castle didn't try to change anything except for his pace. But after a little time had passed, he couldn't ignore the sudden urge he had, and he hurriedly pulled away from her. When she looked at him in slight shock he kissed her hard, but quickly, saying, "I just need to…"

Beckett was a little confused as to what he wanted to do, but he began to go down her body, kissing her by ghosting his lips against her skin. It soon broke out into goose bumps as she watched him, her breathing coming harder as he reached the apex of her legs. When he gently brushed his lips against her entrance, she tried not to instinctively snap her legs together. But it was hard to do as he was moving to her thighs, brushing kisses there as well.

Hearing her moan and gasp with each kiss he gave her, Castle moved down to her feet finally, having made his way over her legs. He kissed the tops of her feet and then toes before going back up to her. "You want me to remember this is what's real don't you?" he asked as she looked up at him.

"I don't care anymore," Beckett said simply, wrapping her arms around him tightly and pulling him down to her. She almost sighed in relief as he entered her again, and they began to immediately start to move towards each other. She took his kiss then, feeling how fervent it was and knowing that he had done a little self torture kissing her body. She kept her legs wrapped around his waist, but let her thighs spread as wide as they would go, drawing him deeper inside of her the next time he thrust in.

Castle gave up on trying to be a little gentle with her, knowing she didn't want it anymore with that movement of her legs. He started to thrust harder, groaning as she let out a short moan, and he moved down to her breasts, kissing what he could reach of them before he went to her lips. They kissed hungrily, as he slid his hand underneath the small of her back. He made her tilt her hips up towards him, and the next time he sank inside of her she was almost screaming, her back arching as she lost it. With everything they'd done to each other, he was immediately following, and nearly lost consciousness with how intense that climax was.

As they both began to slow down a little while later, Beckett heard herself begging him for more, and wasn't really too ashamed of it, since she wanted to take what she could get. He didn't stop thrusting, moving as hard as he'd been before, but that time a little more deliberate, the smack of their hips together more pronounced. She had no idea at that point how long it took her to orgasm again, but when she did, she was about to pass out when she felt Castle beginning to do the same, and she held his wildly rocking body against hers. Pressing her cheek against the side of his head, she felt the warmth of his skin and the friction from it rubbing against hers. Finally, she stopped and relaxed on the bed, almost trembling in the aftermath as she was still throbbing heavily around him.

"You… I think we're pretty good together," Castle said when he felt he could speak and make some kind of sense.

"I think so too, but it's weird we just spent both times reassuring each other," Beckett said. She grabbed the covers from the end of the bed as he lay down next to her stroking the small of her back, and once they were covered she got on top of his chest. "I can almost forget about the case."

"Then I pretty much achieved my goal," Castle said, one arm around her while the other had his hand under his head.

"And I think I achieved mine, I'm pretty sure you'll remember what's real and what's only in your dreams," Beckett said.

"Oh, don't worry, you did," Castle said. He reached up to stroke her hair and then said, "I'm sorry about stopping again like I did, I should have explained before what I was going to do but…"

"I know, you were a little preoccupied," Beckett said with a wide smile. She leaned down and kissed him then saying, "I was going to suggest we get dressed-"

"We don't really need to," Castle interrupted her.

"Let me finish," Beckett said, slapping his chest. "I was going to suggest that, but, I think Julia will be fine," she finished.

"Me too," Castle said. "Maybe we should get some sleep." Once Beckett was settled next to him he wrapped his arms around her tightly as she pressed close to his chest saying, "I was a little surprised she wanted me there."

"It's gradual Castle, but I was really happy to see she wanted you there too," Beckett said simply. "She'll get there though, one day."

"One day," Castle said with a nod. "Do you think…" he started to say after they were quiet, before he stopped himself suddenly. He glanced down at his fiancée, and could just barely see in the dark that she had fallen asleep. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, hesitating for a moment. But before he could stop himself, he was moving to her lips, and he kissed her deeply.

Opening her eyes, they fluttered for a moment before closing tightly as Beckett realized it was Castle. When he pulled away she whispered, "Open the light."

Getting up only so he could turn the light on his nightstand on, Castle went back to Beckett and they moved to the middle of the bed. He entered her unhurriedly, carefully as she moaned his name, and he began to make love to her slowly, carefully and deliberately to both their pleasure. They took their time, and when they had finally reached their peaks at nearly the same time, they were left breathless, kissing passionately as they allowed themselves a little more time to enjoy each other while they had the chance.


	6. Dancing In The Sand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Tiny Dancer by Bernie Taupin and Elton John, from Elton John's album Madman Across the Water.

"Castle," Beckett whispered, touching his shoulder since he was turned away from her. She heard him groan slightly as he woke up, and she raised herself up further to see if his eyes were open. She nearly sighed out in irritation as she saw they were firmly closed still. "Wake up," she said, shaking him a little harder than she'd meant to, but she was desperate.

"What?" Castle asked, blinking a few times before he turned his head to squint at her.

"Are you up?" Beckett asked, running her fingertips under his chin.

"My eyes are op-" Castle stared to say.

"Not that," Beckett said impatiently. She kissed him then, and was relieved to feel his arms around her tightly in response though it took him a few seconds to react. She shifted a little; making him lay on his back; before she got on top of him.

Castle was still slightly in a daze since he'd gone from waking up to his fiancée straddling him. But he snapped back to himself as their bodies joined together, groaning out her name on an exhale as she let out a heavy moan. He grabbed her waist tightly as she began to move, and had to wonder what had spurred her to do that since it was usually him who initiated things in the morning. But he wasn't complaining, watching as she began to move, rocking back and forth slowly. Taking that, he set up a rhythm of his own to match hers and they began to move carefully together, skin sliding against each other where they were joined.

Though he hadn't said anything, Beckett had been able to tell that Castle was wondering why she was that eager to make love that morning. She wasn't sure why herself; having just woken up a few minutes before trying to wake him up feeling a deep desire to be with him. She then lost her train of thought as she tried to move up and down instead of back and forth a few times. But since she was still going so slowly she couldn't quite pull it off. She didn't care though, happy to move on him however she could. She moaned a little as he grabbed the small of her back and began to move her, making her go forward a little harder than before.

Watching where they were coupled together, Castle felt himself holding his breath as he could easily see her taking him in. It wasn't something he'd never seen before, but it was still a shock when he did. There were always times he was afraid it was a dream; and he blamed her waking him up and jumping on him before he could clear his head for feeling that way that time. But, as he had her angle her hips down on each thrust, he lost his train of though, just watching her moving on him. "Kate…" he began, trying to say something else. But he found he didn't have much to say, the pleasure coursing through him robbing him of thinking up something more than he knew. He didn't really mind that, letting his gaze drift up her body as he concentrated on how she felt around him, moving slowly, deliberately.

Beckett's eyes were closed as she was trying to control her thrusts, having a hard time as she was rubbing her swollen nub against him every time she moved up on him. She felt his hands suddenly on her breasts, and that was enough to make her open them again as she looked down at him. Her mouth dropped open as he began to fondle at her, and she let him, knowing she owed him a little for being so abrupt waking him up. But she was getting something out of it as well, the fire in his touch trailing directly down her body to between her legs. She squeezed her legs together a little, remembering the night before, and she felt a deep sense of satisfaction as he groaned in response. She started to move a little harder, not so they were moving wildly, but enough for them to feel the difference in the pace. He caught up to her quickly; which she had expected; and once they were back in sync with one another, she began to reach down and stroke his chest, letting her fingers linger around his nipples.

Hissing as she did that, Castle finally had to grab her hands, stopping her as he was afraid he was going to get so far ahead of her he'd be recovering before she got any kind of satisfaction. He grabbed her ass once he was sure she'd stop, and moved her harder back and forth himself. He followed her as she took the rhythm he was setting, and hissed yet again, but that time he let it go into a groan as they were both finding it a little hard to stay together. "You… were dreaming," he tried to explain, looking up at her as they had to stop before he slid out of her.

"No… I don't remember," Beckett said. "I really don't want to stop," she told him.

"Believe me, I don't either, but you're not giving me much choice," Castle said, gritting his teeth together as he was throbbing in literal pain then.

"I'll take care of you," was all that Beckett told him, her tone of voice a little sharp. She began to move; rocking back and forth on him and not caring she was moving so quickly there were a few times they came seriously close to uncoupling. She didn't worry though, the pleasure was building as she felt him quickly joining her, and together they moved faster and faster until finally she felt something in her seeming to explode, and she tensed up, her back going rigid as she let out a short cry that she tried not to let get too loud. At the same time, as wave after wave of ecstasy came on her, unending, she could felt Castle's hands on the small of her back, holding her tightly, and her name echoed on his lips as he was yelling it, joining her while their hips crashed together.

Coming out of another daze, Castle held onto Beckett as she was lying on his chest, trying to figure out how exactly they'd gotten to that point. But she started moving around in his arms, so he gave up and watched her get off him. "You know I don't mind getting woken up like that," he commented as she lay on her back next to him.

"It's not going to be recurring Castle," Beckett said simply, though there was a little smile on her face as she'd expected him to say something like that. "And don't ask why, because I really don't know. I just woke up and… needed you."

"Pretty badly," Castle said, leaning down and kissing her shoulder. Before he could get too into that though, the alarm on his clock rang and he groaned, reaching over to turn it off as Beckett got up. Rubbing his face, he was a little startled when he felt her arms coming around him from behind and he turned a little to look at her.

"I think we could use a shower," Beckett said, running her hand down his chest which was still slightly covered with sweat.

"Well, if you insist," was all Castle said as he got up to follow her into the bathroom, his hand sliding around her waist as they stepped inside the shower, his lips taking hers as she turned to him.

* * *

"She must be pretty worn out," Beckett commented as she finished dressing.

"Julia? I know, but at least that means she slept," Castle said, getting the last button on his shirt set. "What should I make?"

"You can wake her up actually, I was going to take care of breakfast," Beckett said, making a quick check in the mirror before she turned to him.

"Both of us," Castle said. When she looked at him he quickly said, "Wake her up I mean."

"I'm sure at this point she wouldn't mind you waking her up yourself," Beckett said as they left the room.

"I'm sure she'd rather we both did it," Castle said simply to her.

Beckett didn't say anything in response to that, since she knew he was right, and she followed him into Alexis' room. She smiled when she saw Julia on her back, still asleep, and she pushed Castle to the bed ahead of her.

Looking back at his fiancée, he sat down on the edge and gently shook Julia's shoulder saying carefully, "Julia, time to wake up," unable to help feeling an incredible sense of déjà vu with those words. He glanced at Beckett; who was taking Julia's uniform for the day out of the closet; and turned to see the little girl was squirming, lips pursed and her nose scrunched up. "Hey, morning," he said when she opened her eyes.

"Hi Castle," Julia said with a slight blush. "Hi Mommy," she said as she saw Beckett come up behind him then. "It's school time?"

"Almost," Beckett said as she set the clothes on the end of the bed. "How'd you sleep?"

"No more nightmares?" Castle asked, hoping she hadn't as he'd had a slight concern he and Beckett were so caught up in their lovemaking they hadn't heard her.

"No, I slept nice," Julia said, getting out from under the covers. She hugged Castle before he scooped her up to her cry of delight, handing her to her mother. "Thank you," she said to him.

"You're welcome," Castle said, knowing she was talking about the night before. "I have to ask before you get dressed though, anything you want for breakfast? I can make something special."

"Chocolate pancakes," Julia said quickly, glancing at her mother.

"Go ahead, but there better be some kind of fruit to go with them," Beckett said when he looked at her as well.

"I know what to make," Castle assured her before he left.

"Okay sweetie," Beckett said as she set her daughter on the bed. "Are you ready for school at all?"

"I guess," Julia said, frowning as her mother began to take off her pajamas.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked.

"I don't do ballet do I?" Julia asked.

"Oh, thank you for reminding me, no you don't actually, so hopefully Martha can bring you back here, I'll have to ask her," Beckett said, helping Julia step into the khaki pants of her uniform. "Okay," she said, getting Julia's polo shirt tucked in. "Warm?"

"Yeah, is it cold?" Julia asked.

"It might rain today," Beckett said, helping her down. "Let's go down so I can do your hair and then we'll eat with Castle."

"Will you both take me to school?" Julia asked hopefully.

"I can go," Castle said; since by then the two had been going down the stairs. "We should talk to-" he began to say.

"True," Beckett said quickly, knowing what he wanted to say. "Come on, what do you want to do with your hair today?" she asked her daughter to keep her from asking what they were talking about. She led Julia to the couch and swiftly braided her hair before they joined Castle at the table for the mini chocolate chip pancakes and fruit salad.

"Are you still gonna work today Mommy?" Julia eventually asked after they were nearly finished eating a little bit later.

"We are," Beckett said simply. "But I'll try and come home earlier today than I did yesterday."

"And I'll come home earlier," Castle said. "For sure. When I do we can maybe play a game before dinner."

"Oh, I hope we do," Julia said, a smile on her face. She then pushed around a grape on her plate and asked, "Mommy, the girls in my class ask me what you said."

"Do they know what I'm doing right now?" Beckett asked. She was startled when Julia nodded yes, and she looked at Castle; seeing the same surprise she felt on his face. She had to wonder how five year olds had found out she was investigating the ballet teacher's murder, but hoped they didn't really understand what they knew. "What do they think I'm doing?" she then asked to see if she needed to speak to Julia's teacher about that as well.

"That someone hurt Madame Claude," Julia said. "And they have to go to jail, but you will find them and make them go."

"Okay, well if they ask you about that you just tell them you don't know since you're not with the police alright?" Beckett asked.

"But Castle's not a policeman," Julia said.

"Took a while for that to come up," Castle said, unable to help smiling as he'd always wondered if the little girl had understood his position with the NYPD.  
"No, but he has special permission to work with me," Beckett said; suddenly remembering the mayoral election. She shook it from her mind and then said, "But sweetie, you don't know anything because I can't tell you. I only told you about those two men because of your nightmare."

"Thank you for telling me," Julia said. "I don't want to know Mommy; I just want to know that person goes to jail."

"We'll tell you that for sure," Castle said. "But for now just tell the people who ask that you don't know okay?"

"Kay," Julia said nodding and then finishing her fruit.

There was a slight scramble to get everything cleaned up from breakfast, and Julia was sent up to Alexis' room to get her backpack, returning with Martha when she did so.

"Good morning," Castle's mother said, seeing her son and Beckett were rushing from his bedroom. "Are we late this morning?" she asked, looking at her watch.

"No, we just need to head in a little sooner than normal," Castle said, taking Julia's hand and setting her backpack down as he helped her into her coat.

"Do you have plans this afternoon?" Beckett asked as she got her red coat on.

"Oh no, I have an acting class at twelve, but I'll be finished by two, I'm planning on swinging by Julia's school and picking her up," Martha replied. "I know she'll be out sooner."

"Thank you so much," Beckett said gratefully. "I'll try to be sooner today, we both will, but if something comes up you can take her out for dinner; I'll pay you back."

"Goodbye Mother," Castle said, kissing her cheek.

"Bye Martha!" "Bye," Julia and then Beckett called as they rushed out the door with Julia's backpack and Beckett's bag; Castle in his coat.

"Goodbye," Martha said, stepping into the hall to watch the three leave, Julia on her son's hip. She laughed softly to herself at the sight they made, wondering how they'd managed to hide the fact they were a family for so long. Shaking her head, she picked up the _Ledger_ that they'd missed outside the door and shook it open, frowning when she saw the headline, _Ballet Teacher Murdered By Poison, Found In Costume_ , glad that Julia seemed to be doing far better than she had the day before when she'd picked her up at school.

* * *

"Have a great day Julia," Castle was saying as he hugged her tightly. "And I'll see you tonight."

"Kay, will you take care of Mommy?" Julia asked.

"Always," Castle said, squeezing her shoulder as she smiled back at him.

"We'll see you tonight sweetie," Beckett said, holding her close when she had turned to her. "And I know you'll have fun. I love you Julia."

"Love you Mommy," the little girl said. When Beckett and Castle turned to go to her teacher, she grabbed their wrists and asked anxiously, "Are you gonna talk to Mrs. Clayton?"

"We are, do you want us to do that outside?" Beckett asked.

"No, but I hope she helps you," Julia said seriously.

"Us too," Castle said, smiling at her.

Beckett leaned down and shared another kiss with her daughter before she went over to the teacher, smiling when the woman looked up at hers and Castle's approach.

"Ms. Beckett, Mr. Castle, I was wondering if you were going to talk to me," Mrs. Clayton said. "What can I help you with?"

"We're wondering how Madame Claude was chosen to teach here, and if you don't know who can we talk to that would know about it?" Beckett asked.

"Well, I do know there were three women and two men besides her up for the job," Mrs. Clayton said. "But any details you'll have to ask the Dean, Edie Nott."

"Thank you," Beckett said before she and Castle left the room.

"Do you need me to go? Or should I meet you at the Precinct?" Castle asked as they were leaving the building.

"Meet me there, I'll call Ryan and Esposito after I'm done talking with the Dean," Beckett began as he walked with her to the high school building where the dean's office was. "And fill them in with what we learned last night."

"I'll act as surprised as possible," Castle said simply to that. He reached out and squeezed her hand, feeling hers squeezing back in response for a moment before they let go, and he headed out to the street.

Inside the building, Beckett saw the students in the hall watching her as she walked by. She ignored them, even when one boy tried to talk to her, not stopping until she'd reached the office. Going inside, she showed her badge to the Dean's secretary and said, "I'm Detective Beckett from-"

"Yes of course," the man said, standing up. "Edie, the detective is here."

"Detective Beckett, please, come in," Nott said as she stood up behind her desk. "I remember us speaking before about your daughter's enrollment, and I heard you were assigned the case of our ballet teacher. I was expecting you."

"I just have a few questions," Beckett said. "The most important one is how exactly Madame Claude was selected for the position here at the school."

"Well, I received a number of applicants for the job," Nott said. "And I judged them based on their talent of course, and after two background checks, I found that Madame Claude was the best for it. She was on a probationary period of six months, and after that she was our ballet teacher."

"What about the others who weren't hired? Did any of them express any kind of anger towards your decision?" Beckett asked.

Nott was quiet for a moment, and then she nodded saying, "Only one, a woman named Nancy Longueville. She was incredibly angry I didn't hire her, and I think she and Madame Claude had been friends, up until that point. They had a fight, right here in this office."

"You told Madame Claude she was hired in front of the others?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"Oh no, Ms. Longueville stormed inside and they argued right in front of me, as if I wasn't here," Nott said.

"Do you remember what they said?" Beckett said.

"No, they were speaking in French, so I'm afraid I didn't understand a word they said," Nott replied. "But she was the only one who didn't like my decision."

"I'll still need to check the others out, if you can provide me with names and any kind of information I would appreciate it," Beckett said. She took the list and went outside to wait for copies of the paperwork the Dean had left from the applications, wondering if it was going to turn out Castle was right; that their killer was a woman.

* * *

"Hey, where's Beckett?" Castle asked, walking to her desk in the Precinct.

"I have no idea, hopefully she went out with someone last night," Esposito said, looking at the murder board.

"Are you and Lanie ever going to leave her alone?" Ryan asked his partner, looking at Castle who rolled his eyes in response.

"Come on bro, Julia needs a dad," Esposito said.

"And I've told Lanie; now I'll tell you," Beckett said, walking up to her desk then. "If I ever find one I'll find one. For now can we focus on our case? My daughter's counting on me to find out who did this." She glanced at Castle as he handed her her coffee and she said, "Thanks. I was talking with the Dean of Julia's school about the hiring process for the ballet teacher position."

"Did she get hired over someone else?" Esposito asked.

"Five others," Beckett said. "I asked Julia's teacher first to see who hired Madame Claude, our vic, and then asked the Dean." She filled the others in on the conversation, and then read off the list saying, "Nancy Longueville is the one I want to look into personally right now. Can you two split up the rest of the list and look into them? And were you able to clear Kolchak and Potemkin?"

"Yeah, the Russians are cleared; both alibis, thanks Thomas," Ryan said, taking a file from the officer who'd walked up to them. "This is from tech, they just got done looking through our vic's e-mails for the past week, she had this one in her mailbox the day before she was killed."

"Okay, either she's incredibly stupid," Beckett said, seeing the address that sent it was from an nlongueville. "Or-"

"She didn't expect the vic to keep it," Ryan finished.

"Yeah, I don't know why she wouldn't," Castle said. "This is pretty bad. Calls her a slut and whore… and you know how to read French?" he asked Beckett and Ryan in sudden realization.

"I know slang, and you?" Beckett asked Ryan.

"I assumed by what you said it was bad," he said. "How do we translate this?"

"There's someone in Robbery who's from Quebec," Esposito said. "An aide, I can take it to her."

"Please do that," Beckett said. "I want to call tech again, see if they can get any other e-mails from her account, but she may have deleted them if they didn't find them already."

"I'll look into the two guys on this list," Ryan said before he headed back to his desk.

"So are we setting aside the security footage and the succinylcholine?" Castle asked as he sat with Beckett at her desk.

"For the time being, Longueville's a stronger lead at this point," Beckett said. "Ryan, what about Costa?"

"No luck, we broadened the search a little, but no one we talked to was that optimistic," Ryan replied before he left.

"Did you head back to see Julia before you left?" Castle asked.

"No, that was a one time thing," Beckett said as she was typing their new suspect's name into her computer. "Plus her psychiatrist said I shouldn't really do that once I say goodbye to her." She then looked over at him and glancing quickly to Ryan asked, "Did you?"

"No, there she is," Castle said, nodding to her computer screen.

Turning, Beckett saw the information on Longueville, and said, "It's basically the same as Madame Claude. They were in the same dance troupes for a long time; they performed together in the same troupe Amy Holsten is in now…"

"Did you ever wonder why the two daughters have the last name Holsten instead of-" Castle then asked.

"We found it out last night," Beckett said quickly, turning to him. "The vic wanted to keep them hidden from their father and changed their last names; they kept them even after they grew up."

"You ever think of calling the FBI," Castle said. "For their face recognition software to find Costa?"

"Not really," Beckett said absently. "Okay, I'd like to talk to her myself. She took a giant step back in her career after losing out on the job at Julia's school. She's now teaching in a little studio on 116th."

"Big step down, unless her clientele are wealthy?" Castle asked.

Going to the site for the studio, Beckett shook her head saying, "Lessons seem reasonably priced, so I don't think so." She picked up her phone and dialed the number on the site, getting hold of an assistant.

Looking over at his fiancée as she said, "She's not in yet? But her lessons… okay, thank you, goodbye," Castle said the second she hung up, "It's almost ten."

"I know, her first lesson's supposed to start in about ten minutes. But according to the assistant I talked to, she's taking over for the mornings for the time being," Beckett said.

"How suspicious," Castle said as she made another phone call.

Having gotten Longueville's number from the assistant, Beckett was hoping to contact the woman that way to bring her in for an interview. But it went straight to voicemail, and she left a message before looking over at Esposito who was getting a piece of paper from a woman she didn't recognize.

"Must be that aide from Robbery," Castle said, following her gaze.

"Must be, was she able to translate it?" Beckett asked as the detective walked over to them.

"All set," Esposito said, handing her the file he'd gotten.

" _You think you can take him away from me the way you took my job? I told you, you would live to regret it and I mean to make you pay double for what you've done_ ," Beckett read. " _I'll tell the school you're a whore and a slut and you don't even know who the baby's father is. They'll fire you and I'll step in, even though they said no the first time. I'll make you pay, even if I have to do it with my own two hands_."

"Sounds like a great woman," Castle said wryly.

"Oh she does," Esposito said shaking his head as Beckett was making another phone call. "And she was going to teach kids?"

"I'm wondering who the man is that she mentioned," Beckett said. "I need you to put out an APB on her Espo; we really need to talk with her now we've seen this threat."

"What about Costa?" Ryan asked, coming up to them.

"Has he been found?" Castle asked.

"A homeless shelter in the Bronx had him in there last night, but he left," Ryan said. "The guy I talked to said he saw him take a northern route out of the shelter."

"Alright, I'd like you to check security footage from the area; you have a tighter window of time so it hopefully won't take too long," Beckett said. "Espo, since Castle and I are going to wait for Longueville, I'd like you to start calling around hospitals, starting with St. Rose General, asking about succinylcholine being stolen."

"On it," Esposito said before he left.

"But we're just waiting," Castle said when they were alone. "You called her assistant back right?"

"I did, she'll be in at about eleven, so we have a little less than an hour to spare," Beckett said. "I'd like to make some phone calls, to the troupes that are still around that both our vic and Longueville were part of, see if they had a rivalry longer than this."

"And me?" Castle asked.

"Remember the security footage you asked about at the vic's building?" Beckett said, smiling slightly.

"Ah, thank you, I'm not too surprised it falls to me too look through at least two week's worth of footage," Castle said, grimacing. He then smiled and said, "At least you're letting me participate."

"Too many angles to this for me not to," Beckett said simply. "But I appreciate it; tell Ryan you need the TV and footage they sent us this morning for the time being." She watched Castle get up and picked up her phone as he told the detective her request. She bit back a smile when Ryan spoke to him seriously, and then led him to the TV. When someone on the other end of the phone said hello, she hurriedly answered back, forgetting about her fiancé as she began to ask questions about their vic and new suspect.

* * *

"So I'm guessing no luck for you either?" Castle asked as he walked into the break room, finding Beckett there alone with a cup of tea.

"Nothing from the security footage?" she asked as she shook her head.

"No, and I was looking for anybody and everybody," Castle said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He heard Beckett's phone vibrate on the table with a text and said, "Lanie?"

"Yes, some new doctor she wants me to meet," Beckett said in annoyance. "I should have tried to get out of that dinner on Friday," she said as she quickly responded to the message and then slipped her phone in her pocket. "But I'm sure that would have made her even more suspicious. Even if I told her I wanted to spend time with Julia."

"At least she's not suspicious about…" Castle began before trailing off as he looked at the doors quickly.

"Not anymore than what we talked about," Beckett said simply. She took another sip of her tea; remembering her conversation with her friend the Friday before. As had been happening more often since Julia's birthday, Lanie had been urging her to go out on dates; not just to find a father for her daughter, but for herself to find someone as well. She had tried to deflect as much as she could, changing the subject a number of times, but Lanie would not stop and she'd had her hands full fielding the questions she'd been posed.

* * *

_"Hey girl, how's Julia?" Lanie said as she saw Beckett walking up to her at the bar they'd decided to eat at that night._

_"Pretty good, when I left she and Mrs. Parker were going through some of the steps Julia learned today," Beckett said, though that was only partially true. As was their habit when she went out with her friends, she would drop her daughter off at Mrs. Parker's so Julia could wait for Castle to pick her up and he would spend time alone with her. "I promised her though I wouldn't be too late," she said quickly as a waiter came over to their table._

_"Again?" Lanie asked._

_"I haven't done that since the first time we went out since I adopted her," Beckett said once the waiter had taken her drink order._

_"I know, but I'm surprised you're doing that again," Lanie said. "You're not coddling her?"_

_"Coddling?" Beckett asked with a smile. "She's nervous about her dance class on Monday; it's a little test to see if she can remember everything she's been taught so far."_

_"And what if she doesn't?" Lanie said._

_"She'll have to repeat the steps, which she really doesn't want to do," Beckett said._

_"So she's determined," Lanie stated._

_"Pretty much, what?" Beckett asked, seeing the look on her face._

_"She's definitely your daughter," Lanie said. "And I am happy you have her Kate, you've definitely changed. But-"_

_"Please don't do this the whole night," Beckett groaned. "I didn't want to come and have you chew me out again for not going out with anyone."_

_"You know I have to, I don't want you to be lonely," Lanie said._

_"I'm not, really, I'm not," Beckett assured her._

_"You're going to be at some point, and when that happens, what if you start blaming Julia for the fact you're single?" Lanie said. She saw the look that immediately appeared on her friend's face and quickly said, "Okay, I know you wouldn't do that, but then I don't want you so desperate you-"_

_"End up with a guy that's terrible to both of us," Beckett finished. "Yes, I know that's a worry, but trust me when I say I'm not desperate and I really doubt I'll ever be. Not when it comes to my daughter's safety."_

_"That's true," Lanie had to concede. Their waiter had returned with their drinks by then, so she waited until the man had left to say, "What about him?"_

_Shaking her head; as she knew Lanie wasn't serious; Beckett took a sip of her martini and said, "No set ups tonight please. I'd like to relax after this last case. And that's the other reason why I want to get back home soon. I feel like I've barely seen Julia at all." She grimaced then, since that partially applied to Castle as he'd been working on a chapter that he needed to finish to send in to his publisher and hadn't worked on the case all the way through with her._

_"You're not really going to be able to do much with her, unless you want to head back at nine?" Lanie asked. When Beckett only smiled at that she sighed and said, "You know, if you're going to cut our night out short, it's only fair I get to keep bothering you."_

_"Yeah, like I thought you'd stop in the first place," Beckett sighed. "Look, just, don't set me up, because that really scares me."_

_"Okay, but what about Dr. Nagle?" Lanie asked._

_"At the Morgue? We talked about that," Beckett said. "He doesn't like kids first off, and I've seen him working on a vic that had been stabbed in the abdomen; killing her baby. And he honestly didn't seem to care that it was a child. Almost made me sick."_

_"So it sounds like you want kids," Lanie then said. "But you-"_

_"I know, I need a guy if that's going to happen but that won't be for a long, long time," Beckett said; another discussion they'd had before concerning her not dating._

_"Don't make Julia wait for a brother or sister, you said she told you on Spring Break she wanted a little sister," Lanie pointed out. "Okay, so you don't want to be set up and pretty much every guy I've been trying to set you up with gets turned down. What about your past boyfriends." Her friend gave her a look and she said, "Girl, you're giving me nothing, what am I supposed to do? And I told you, I'm doing this for you and Julia, not because I have nothing else better to do than match you up with guys."_

_Beckett kept herself from retorting, knowing that if she protested much longer her excuse of wanting to spend a little more time getting used to being Julia's mother was going to wear thin. So she merely took another sip of her drink as Lanie spoke again, though the name she said made her smile. "I saw him actually, leaving the Precinct one day, about two months ago," she said._

_"And?" Lanie asked._

_"Demming asked; after the usual greetings you give kind of awkwardly to an ex; how I was enjoying being a mother," Beckett said._

_"First off?" Lanie asked interestedly._

_"First off and in a tone of voice that seemed to convey to me he wanted me to say I had changed my mind about adopting Julia," Beckett said. "He tried to ask me on a date though he looked disappointed when I told him I loved being a mother. But Espo told me after that, that he recently broke up with a woman he'd been seeing for a year, so I guess he was desperate."_

_"So you said no," Lanie stated instead of asking._

_"Of course, in my mind I don't think he's ready to be a… well, not a father exactly, but to act like one," Beckett said._

_"Josh?" Lanie said._

_"You said he moved to DC," Beckett said._

_"Long distance doesn't hurt," Lanie said with a shrug. "Wait, you didn't know he'd moved, so you two didn't stay friends."_

_"Hard to stay friends when he accuses you of staying in a relationship for a year because you needed a distraction," Beckett said, frowning as she sipped her drink._

_Waiting for their waiter to set down a plate of appetizers Laine then asked, "Castle?"_

_Pausing with a slice of bruschetta in her hand, Beckett looked at her friend and asked, "Where did that come from?"_

_"Are you forgetting we already talked about him?" Lanie said._

_"No, but that was a long time ago, two years actually," Beckett said simply._

_"And you never tried to tell him how you felt," Lanie said._

_"No, because he was seeing that flight attendant remember?" Beckett reminded her._

_"And you had a chance with the-" Lanie began._

_"I know," Beckett said. "But Lanie, Castle's still…" she started to say, unsure if she wanted to finish that._

_"He's a good father you know," Lanie said._

_"To Alexis, I'm aware of it, but… he's still a little immature and-" Beckett said before she was cut off that time._

_"That would be great for Julia, sometimes you have to admit your daughter is a little too serious for five years old," Lanie said._

_"So you want me to go after him because he'd be a good father?" Beckett asked, at that point feeling a little like someone else was speaking for her._

_"Also because you still feel something for him. I have no idea what, you're pretty hard to read these days," Lanie said. "Or, do you have someone already and you're trying to hide your relationship? I'm right aren't I?"_

_"That would be a pretty good guess, but I'm not really in the mood for a relationship I'm not going to be sure about," Beckett said, finally tired of lying. "My daughter needs to see me with someone who'll love her and me and will want us a part of his life. I haven't found him yet," she said. Inwardly she said to herself, 'Since I already found him I'm not looking anymore.' "But again, as I told you before if I do then I'll let you know. Just take it easy for now, I might wait until Julia's six to start dating again but, I'll see."_

_Sighing, as she could tell from Beckett's tone that she was getting close to losing her temper, Lanie nodded but said, "Let me just say though, I still think you should give it a shot with Castle. I really think he'd be good for you, he has been already as your partner."_

_"My partner who's dating someone right now," Beckett said, trying not to smile as she said that. "So what about you? Plans for Easter?" she said, hoping Lanie would take the hint. Luckily she did, and Beckett relaxed a little as they went through their drinks and meal, the subject not being brought up again. They finished earlier than planned, and while Lanie took a cab outside to a club to meet some other friends, Beckett headed back to Castle's._

_"I think another fifteen minutes," Castle was saying to Julia as they were playing a video game together. "And then I'll get you ready for bed okay?"_

_"But I wanna see Mommy," Julia said, turning to him._

_"I'll just get you ready, and then we'll read until she comes back okay?" Castle asked. When Julia nodded he kissed her temple and helped her with the racing game he'd put on for her, nearly finishing a lap when they heard a key in the lock. "There she is… sooner than I thought too," he commented as he stopped the game and set Julia down._

_"Sweetie, I'm so glad to see you," Beckett said as she picked up her daughter and hugged her close. "How was Coney Island?"_

_"Lots of fun, can I show you what Castle won for me?" Julia said._

_As Julia ran to the couch, Castle stepped up to his fiancée and asked, "She asked again?"_

_"Pretty bad this time, I was so glad I already planned to come sooner," Beckett said before cupping his cheeks and kissing him. She forgot about Julia for a moment, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a kind of desperation while they hesitantly brushed their tongues together in her mouth. But she had to remember Julia could see them when she felt a tug on the pocket of her coat. "Sorry sweetie," she said once she and Castle had parted hurriedly._

_"It's kay, can I show you?" Julia asked. When her mother nodded she held up the minion stuffed toy and said, "Isn't it pretty? I'm gonna call it Carl."_

_"It's a good name," Beckett said, smiling as the toy was nearly as big as her daughter. "We'll have to put this on the chair at your table when we go home."_

_"And I can put Dave to sit on his lap 'cause they're brothers," Julia said eagerly. She then became serious and asked, "Do we go home tonight?"_

_"I don't think so," Castle said quickly before Beckett could say anything. "You're staying the night here and tomorrow we're heading out to the zoo remember?"_

_"I'm excited Mommy," Julia said, hugging her stuffed toy tightly to her. "How long until we go?"_

_"Still a little bit. But for now, let's get you ready for bed," Beckett said. "And once you're asleep it means-"_

_"We go to the zoo faster, I know," Julia said with a sigh as she let her mother and Castle usher her to the stairs. "Mommy, why didn't you go with Castle for dinner?" she asked as Beckett picked her up and Castle took her toy to carry._

_"I haven't had dinner with Lanie in a while, you know she's my friend," Beckett explained; not the first time she had to. "But tomorrow the three of us are going out for dinner okay?"_

_"Kay," Julia said before Beckett took her into Alexis' bathroom. Once she was in the bath and playing with the few toys kept for her there, she said, "Castle can come in now."_

_"Thanks, I almost fell asleep," he said as he stepped inside. "Carl kept shaking me to make sure I didn't," he said, smiling when Julia giggled. He was still a little shocked the little girl didn't seem to have much of a problem with him there, ever since they got back from San Francisco, she was treating him more and more like he was her father, just not calling him that yet. He shook his head then as she was speaking, and he leaned over to kiss the top of her head before Beckett began to wash her hair. "Tell your mom what we did out at Coney," he said as he sat down to watch them._

_Julia chattered happily about their night out at the amusement park, all through the rest of the bath and even when Castle had left as Beckett took her out to dry and dress. She only finished once she told her mother about them playing a few video games, and yawned widely when she stopped speaking._

_"Sounds like it was a busy evening," Beckett said, tucking the sheets around her. She stepped aside to let Castle say goodnight, and then kissed her daughter's lips tenderly as Julia had fallen asleep by then. Murmuring a goodnight to her, she left with Castle and they headed downstairs._

_"Want anything to drink?" Castle asked her as he went to the kitchen. "Wine, coffee?"_

_"Coffee, I had a couple martinis with Lanie," Beckett said, sitting at the island as she watched him prepare it._

_"So what was it this time?" Castle asked when he had a chance._

_"She rattled off a couple of my exes," Beckett said._

_"Who?" Castle said, not turning from the machine so she couldn't see the expression on his face._

_"I can tell you're jealous already Castle, you need to stop though," Beckett said, shaking her head. "She said Demming and Josh, but I told you about Demming, and Josh isn't even in this state anymore."_

_"She's getting desperate," Castle said, taking the two mugs of coffee he'd made for them and nodding to the couch. "Is there anymore?"_

_"One more name she supplied, not an ex, not someone she works with-" Beckett said as they sat with their drinks._

_"Oh, did she say that creepy Dr. Nagle? Seriously?" Castle said when Beckett nodded to his guess. He shuddered and said, "I cannot imagine that guy as a dad. So she said me I'm guessing."_

_"She said you'd be a good father, and mentioned that conversation we had around the time you started to pull away from me," Beckett said._

_"It's funny she never mentioned that again until today," Castle said. "But at least she thinks I'm a good dad. Though I'm supposed to be dating someone."_

_"Apparently she's that desperate for me to be with someone," Beckett said with a sigh. "I hate acting, but I think your mom would have been proud of how I handled things. Especially once your name came up."_

_"And that was all she said? Nothing about how I'd be good for you or-" Castle started to say; trying to sound as serious as he could. He was stopped though when Beckett clamped her hand over his mouth and he mumbled a few words to make her move it._

_"She did say that," Beckett said with another sigh. "And she should have also said you fish for compliments way too much."_

_"Where are you going?" Castle asked as she set down her mug and went to her bag in the closet. "I'm surprised you forgot that," he said with a smile as she was holding the engagement ring. "Are you okay?" he then said as he realized she wasn't really responding to that._

_"I'm a little tired of them trying to set me up," Beckett said as she handed Castle the ring and watched him slip it onto her finger. "I told Lanie to stop and to tell Espo too. But I doubt they will."_

_"Of course not," Castle said. He started to speak but then hesitated a little before finally saying, "Are you sure you don't want to start telling them you're dating?"_

_"I can't really," Beckett said. "I told Lanie I was going to just wait until I found someone I was sure enough of that I wouldn't have to constantly date."_

_Castle nodded to that and said, "So that's me right?"_

_"Stop fishing," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "And yes it is. But, can we change the subject, I feel like I could easily get a headache if we keep talking about this."_

_"Okay, what else do you want to talk about?" Castle asked._

_"How's writing been going, we haven't seen each other for much longer than a night lately," Beckett said._

_"Not bad, I should be able to finish Monday, so if you get a case I might be able to join in but I'll just be later," Castle said._

_"Why don't you finish Sunday?" Beckett suggested._

_"I was going to spend it with you," Castle said. "Since Julia's going to be with her grandfather for the day."_

_"I'd like to sleep in; catch up on that a little; if you can finish then, we can do something together," Beckett said. "Your choice," she finished with, taking a sip of her coffee and looking away from him._

_"Sure you want to leave it to me?" Castle asked. When she just looked him with one eyebrow raised he looked into his mug and tossed off the last of the liquid inside. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up and with him into his bedroom. He wouldn't let her go as he locked the door behind them, though she was trying to get her hand out of his grasp._

_Beckett wasn't too surprised when Castle pulled her to the shower and she had to be quick as he started to undress her, beginning on his clothes. She let him take her inside, pushing her back against the wall, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly as he kissed her and lifted her up in his arms, her wet back sliding against the white tiles as steam enclosed them._

* * *

_Taking off the towel covering the front of her body, Beckett couldn't help smile slightly as she looked at Castle as he walked back inside the room after locking the second door. "Good timing, I was really getting thirsty," she said as she took the glass he handed her, raising it to him in thanks before she drank._

_Not too surprised when she drank down half the water, Castle removed his pajamas he'd thrown on haphazardly and sat on the edge of the bed next to her. He started to run his fingers through her hair, careful as the wet locks were tangled a little here and there. He took the glass when she finished, setting it aside on her nightstand before he leaned over and kissed her tenderly._

_A little taken aback by the kiss; she'd been expecting something more passionate; Beckett fell into it, and let him lay her on her back. They pulled apart, and she reached up to his lips, stroking them. She bit her lower lip as he grabbed her wrist and proceeded to kiss all over her fingers and palms before nipping at her wrist, making her tremble slightly in response. "Castle," she breathed, knowing she had to tell him she didn't want to bother with any kind of foreplay._

_Looking up at her then, Castle let go of her, and then lay on his side next to her, stroking her cheek with the backs of his fingers before he moved to kiss her. He kept that kiss short, and then proceeded to stroke at her breasts. Her sharp intake of breath was a little irritated; he swore he could hear tone in it; and he knew his plan was working. He was a little startled when she grabbed the back of his head, pulling him down to her breast. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then took the nipple into his mouth, suckling at it roughly, deciding he could work with the change with what he'd had in mind._

_Breathing in roughly, Beckett stroked at Castle's hair, watching him go back and forth between each mound. He had quickly learned the best ways to arouse her doing that, even finding some things that other men she'd been with had never even done before. She was a little surprised when he suddenly moved his hand from her breast his mouth wasn't busy stimulating, and slid down her abdomen, her muscles quivering in his wake as he left a trail of fire. Stiffening slightly as his fingers found her the still swollen nub between her legs, she looked into his eyes as he pulled away from her breasts, and she arched her back slightly._

_"Want me to stop?" Castle asked, moving up to her lips and speaking against them._

_"No… you can… keep going," Beckett breathed heavily in pleasure as his fingers slipped to her entrance and then back up to the very apex of her legs. She closed her eyes tightly when his digits didn't make the pass back up, instead slid into her, and she was spreading her legs wide for him. He soon started to move them back and forth inside of her, and she was crying out in pleasure before biting down on her lower lip hard to stifle it._

_Leaning over slightly, Castle took her lips with his, sliding his tongue over her lower one before drawing her own tongue back into his mouth. He couldn't stop her from crying out, but he managed to achieve what he'd set out kissing her. She was moaning and crying out as loud as she could, the sounds muffled by their mouths. He was using his thumb to stimulate her at the apex of her legs then, and could feel her moving with his fingers. Speeding up the pace slightly, they needed to breathe, so he pulled back enough to watch her. His other arm was wrapped around her, hand on her hip, and he could feel her movements. He shuddered in his own arousal as he listened to the sounds she was making in response to him. Looking down her body, his mouth watered and he couldn't resist bowing his head._

_As he proceeded to nip and suck at her breasts again, Beckett let out a tiny cry that she was a little shocked had come from her mouth. But it didn't surprise her at all; he was making her feel so much she was proud of herself for not screeching her pleasure and waking up his entire building. But finally she made him look up at her after he'd gone over each breast numerous times, and she stroked his cheek, still feeling his fingers working over her, making her tremble in joy._

_"Make me stop," Castle whispered, leaning his head against hers so their lips brushed together again. "Tell me to stop Kate, and I will never touch you again."_

_Knowing what he was trying to do, Beckett merely caught his lips with her own, giving him her answer. He didn't stop, and she found herself fighting with herself to keep from finding her climax too soon. But his mouth was all over her upper body after their kiss, and his lips left the same trail of fire his fingers usually did. She found herself tensing up for a brief second, and was crying out indiscriminately, forgetting her concern of alerting anyone to their activities; the pleasure was too great._

_Holding her, Castle shuddered as he watched her getting off, loving to see her like that. When she finally stopped, breathing heavily, he carefully let go of her and was quick to lay on her after taking care of his soaked hand. "Okay?" he asked._

_"You never really let me return the favor unless I push you," Beckett said, feeling strong enough to talk then, stopping him from entering her._

_"I want to watch you," Castle said with a shrug though he was straining heavily._

_"You're a pervert," Beckett shot back, finally parting her legs for him._

_"And you know you're stunning when you're-" Castle started to say._

_Kissing him hard then; as his tone had been completely serious; Beckett couldn't keep it going for too long as she was out of breath at the feeling of him sliding inside of her body. She cupped his cheeks and whispered, "I enjoy watching you too."_

_"Now?" Castle asked._

_Smiling, Beckett wrapped her legs around him tightly in response, and Castle was soon moving, starting slowly to their simultaneous groans. They began to move together, and they were soon clutching each other as things went from slow and deliberate, to fast and hard. But everything was still deliberate; they wanted to make sure the other knew their lying about their relationship was done only because they had to; not because they wanted to. And they could feel that from each other though the only words spoken were each other's names as they drove each other crazy in absolute elation._

* * *

"She got in about five minutes ago," Beckett said as she and Castle were getting into her car.

"It took her that long to call?" Castle asked.

"The assistant was busy with the class before Longueville took over," Beckett replied, getting them out of the parking structure. "The class is almost over and the assistant will keep her from going to lunch for us."

"Nice," Castle said. "But why aren't you just arresting her?"

"Because while that withdrawal in her financials is enough to buy a vial of the substance, we can't really prove it was that," Beckett said. "Since she did pay cash."

"All the more reason to think it's succinylcholine," Castle said simply.

Beckett didn't reply to that, instead concentrating on getting them to the dance studio, which wasn't too far from the Precinct. They managed to get to the tenth floor and inside the studio as the dancers were leaving the classroom. "Excuse me," she said as a few of the male dancers watched her walk past them.

"Excuse us," Castle said a little loudly when they still stared at her and wouldn't let him pass. "We're with the NYPD, can you get out of the way?" he asked in irritation as they still didn't move.

"You are no cop," one of the men said, looking Castle up and down scathingly.

"He's not, but I am, let my partner through," Beckett said, having heard her fiancé speaking. "I'd like you to keep a little more… quiet on this one," she said once he reached her.

"Why?" Castle asked though he was nodding to what she'd said.

"A hunch," Beckett replied with a slight shrug. She went inside the classroom then, and saw the teacher was doing a stretch at the _barre_. But she felt something was wrong with the way the woman was doing it; having seen her daughter do that same stretch so many times before. "Ms. Longueville?" she said to get her attention. When her head shot up to look at them she said, "I'm Detective Kate Beckett with the NYPD, this is Richard Castle, I'm wondering if we might talk to you."

"I don't believe I 'ave much choice do I?" the woman asked; her accent as thick as Madame Claude's had been. "You are 'ere to speak with me about Claude, _non_?"

"Yes, we understand you danced together," Beckett said.

"Cut to the point Detective, she took my job away from me, my dream job. And…" Longueville snapped before she suddenly went pale and fell to the floor, grabbing onto the barre as Beckett and Castle rushed over to her. "I'm alright, don't touch me!" she yelled as they got close.

"Should we call a doctor?" Castle asked.

" _Non, je ne veux pas un médecin_. No doctor!" Longueville said. "I already know what it is that is wrong with me."

"You're pregnant aren't you?" Beckett said as Longueville leaned against the _barre_.

"Yes, if you must know," she said before breathing out. "I will 'ave to give my classes soon to Patricia, she will take over until the baby is born in November."

Castle glanced at Beckett over the teacher's head, asking with his gaze when she shook her head. He nodded, and waited for her to pose the question herself.

"Is the father of the baby Lorenzo Martine?" Beckett asked carefully.

Straightening up at that, tears filled Longueville's eyes and she nodded slowly whispering, "I told 'im as soon as I knew, but by then 'e knew Claude was pregnant with 'is baby too, so 'e wanted nothing to do with me." When she saw the expressions on Castle's and Beckett's faces at that she quickly said, "Oh no, _non_ , 'e agreed to pay for 'is child at first so I wouldn't be destitute raising it, but 'e wanted nothing to do with me, 'e 'as always loved Claude." A slightly wistful smile appeared on her face as she said, "It was one night and this will be all I 'ave to remember it by."

"Has Mr. Martine been acting strange lately?" Beckett asked.

"I 'ave not really seen 'im since I told 'im I was pregnant," Longueville said. "But… oh, I take that back, almost two weeks ago 'e came to me, asking for money," her expression suddenly becoming angry.

"How much?" Castle asked.

"Around five 'undred, which I thought was very odd as 'e would always 'ave money," Longueville said. She then clenched her hands into fists as she said, "And when I gave 'im the money, the bastard tried to pressure me into an abortion! Apparently 'e is going through some troubles with money now, and 'e cannot afford two children."

Nodding; since they'd been able to see from Martine's records he'd been sliding towards bankruptcy until two days before when he'd gotten his paycheck from the Sleeping Beauty shows; Beckett said, "He was overspending before he was paid for his shows."

"Yes, well, it turns out that Claude was not as wealthy as 'e'd thought," Longueville said. "Their studio they wanted to buy was going to cost far more than they thought, and with a baby on the way…"

"Do you have any clue at all what exactly that five hundred dollars was for?" Beckett asked.

" _Non_ , 'e never said," Longueville said. "The strange thing about when 'e came to me for the cash, was there was someone; a woman I would say but I cannot be sure. They were well wrapped up so it could be either. They waited for Lorenzo, and 'e 'anded the cash to them as they were leaving with me yelling after 'im. I almost thought it was Claude, but 'er stride was too quick for that, Claude was a dancer every minute and every second… even in 'er death. But I do remember 'im asking this person if it was enough to get the medicine."

"Medicine?" Castle asked, looking at Beckett.

" _Oui_ , medicine, they took a taxi and I took one myself to follow them; afraid they might try to get something to poison me and kill me and my child," Longueville said. "And I saw them buying something near Lennox street, I went to the dealer, asking what it was after I convinced 'im I might think of buying something myself."

"What was it?" Beckett said.

"I do not know, but it was clear, and 'e said it was used to relax muscles, so I was relieved, it wasn't poison," Longueville said. She then saw the expression that briefly appeared on Beckett's face and said, "It was?"

"What were you doing two nights ago between ten and twelve?" Beckett asked.

"I was at 'ome, there is a security camera in my building, I was ill," Longueville said, suddenly looking green. " _Pardonnez-moi_ ," she told them before rushing out of the room.

"So he has an accomplice," Castle said as he stepped closer to his fiancée.

"And a motive," Beckett said, taking out her phone. "Esposito? I need you and Ryan to find and arrest Lorenzo Martine now, before he tries to kill his child again."


	7. Don't Let Me Break You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Helter Skelter by The Beatles, from their album The Beatles, or The White Album.

"So Martine was strapped for cash, but he was getting paid," Castle said as he and Beckett were about to sit down at her desk. "So it wasn't so much he couldn't afford a child, as he didn't want one?"

"I know," Beckett said in response to his tone of voice. "It doesn't make any sense to me either. But," she said as she was sitting down. "You ever think that maybe the vic found out about Longueville's pregnancy and pushed him to make her end it?"

"The money excuse is weak though. You saw how thrilled she was to be having his child," Castle said, nodding to the room where they had Longueville to protect her until Martine was arrested. "Her alibi?" he then asked.

"Oh, solid as anything, there's a record of some e-mails around the time of death being sent from her home computer. And I also checked the security camera footage, no one but her went in and out of that apartment all day and all night until yesterday morning when she left at eleven for her class again," Beckett said. "I had that thought too, that she was lying completely to us."

"The e-mails-" Castle started to say.

"To her students and parents of students that were minors," Beckett said. "Telling them she was pregnant and her assistant would take over. And then to a company that sells baby furniture."

"Okay, so now we just need Martine," Castle said. "Who in the end is just an accessory, so I could still be right about it being a woman."

Before Beckett could reply to that, she looked up as she saw Esposito and Ryan walking up to them. "Nothing?" she asked, standing up.

"Nothing, and believe me, we checked everywhere we knew to," Ryan said. "He's completely gone."

"Excuse me," Beckett said, starting to head to the room Longueville was in. "Wait there Castle," she said to her fiancé when he started to get up to go after her. "Do you know if Martine has any place he goes to get away? A hotel, or-" she started to ask the teacher as soon as the door was open.

"'e owns an apartment off 86th and Lexington," Longueville said after recovering from the shock of Beckett opening the door. "But 'e rents it out and it's in 'is sister's name."

"Is anyone there now?" Beckett asked. When Longueville shook her head she then asked, "What's the number?"

"16F," Longueville said in a near whisper.

"He has-" Beckett said, going back out to her desk.

"We got a report of shots fired," Esposito said. "An anonymous tipster just called and said it's Martine."

"Where?" Beckett asked, snatching her keys from her desk and jogging to the elevator with the men.

"Near 86th and Lex," Castle answered.

"That's his apartment he rents," Beckett said, shaking her head as the elevator doors closed on them.

* * *

"We need him alive," Esposito was telling the other tactical team members that were behind him and Ryan. "So shoot only if necessary."

"Stay in your apartment ma'am," Beckett said, behind the team as she was letting her partners take point. She smiled at the baby in the woman's arms before the tenant went back inside. "Castle-" she said as she turned to him then.

"I know, stay outside until you call for me," he said, since they had started doing that once she had adopted Julia. "Be careful," he whispered, something he'd started doing after San Francisco.

Nodding, Beckett made her way up to the door and nodded to Ryan who banged hard on the door with his fist calling, "Lorenzo Martine, this is the NYPD, open up!"

When there was no answer or sound of movement inside, Esposito kicked the door in, and followed the three men of the team inside before Ryan and then Beckett entered.

Going to a room on the right as the others were going left, Beckett lowered her gun as she saw the body of Martine sprawled on a bed, his face almost unrecognizable from the gunshot wound to it. She had only recognized the man because of the tattoo on his wrist of a snake wrapped around it.

"Apartment's… clear," Ryan said, coming up to her.

"No wonder," Castle said, having come in when he didn't hear Beckett call him. "Any note?"

"Here," Beckett said, holstering her gun and putting on a pair of gloves. She unfolded a piece of paper on a nightstand and said, "He said he didn't know what was going to happen, but he didn't deserve to live."

"And?" Castle asked when Beckett didn't continue.

"And that's all there is," she said, showing him the very short, typewritten note. "So I think it's safe to say-"

"It's not a suicide," she and Castle said at the same time.

"Really, because he typed it?" Esposito asked.

"Did you see a typewriter anywhere?" Castle asked.

"No, but bro, he could have typed it somewhere else and then brought it here with him," Esposito said.

"It's doubtful, but of course it'll be almost impossible to prove it wasn't a suicide just by that note," Beckett said, hanging up her phone. "Get the team out and stick around for CSU."

"What are you going to do?" Ryan asked as she left the room.

"Look back into our second vic, because he obviously can't tell us who his accomplice was," Beckett said simply.

* * *

"Phone calls, papers, everything we could ever have wanted to find out about Martine, and yet, nothing about who he could have been fraternizing with," Castle commented. He and Beckett were back in the conference room, looking through the papers they had on their suspect turned victim. She had also called the man's friends and family, trying to see who might have wanted to help him kill their first vic. But no one was suspicious in the man's life, and the only person anyone could think might possibly be was Longueville, who had been escorted back to her apartment, Gates having a guard placed outside her apartment since she and her baby were still at risk.

"Of course not, this was a secret," Beckett said. "Have I mentioned I hate those?"

"Me too, except when they're going to turn out positive," Castle said. "Like a surprise."

"Then it's a surprise," Beckett said. Her phone rang, and she looked down, a little surprised to see it was Julia's school. In the next instant; once her mind told herself again it was her daughter's school; her heart started to pound nervously and she hurriedly answered saying, "Beckett?"

Looking up as her voice was a little worried, Castle watched as a look of relief appeared on her face before she asked, "The wrong day? How exactly did that happen?"

"Okay, thank you for your help, we'll take a look at it right now, bye," Beckett said before she hung up. "That was Julia's school; apparently they sent the wrong footage to us. That was from the night before the murder, not the night of."

"How did that happen?" Castle asked, slightly shocked.

"They're not sure something about the date," Beckett said, standing up.

"So we're taking a look at it," Castle said, shaking his head.

Turning to him, Beckett saw that was rhetorical, and knew he was thinking the same as her. She stepped into the room and turned on the TV, getting the footage that the school had sent to her. She played the clip, and took a deep breath as she went through the day, easily recognizing her daughter at the time of the practice. She couldn't help it, pressing play to see her.

"She's gotten really good," Castle murmured, knowing why Beckett was delaying. He knew how much Julia loved Amber as a teacher, and was concerned it was going to turn out her alibi was not as solid as they'd been led to believe. "But, you know, it doesn't make sense that Ryan wouldn't see what he had wasn't the right day."

"No, look at the time stamp," Beckett said.

"How… okay, I'll guess someone didn't really learn how to set up the date that well," Castle said when he saw the date was for the day after the murder. "Are we sure the time's correct?"

"Yeah, look when they stop practicing, it'll be five," Beckett said softly, her eyes still on Julia. She glanced at Castle, a small smile on her face as the little girl had been stretching with her friend Celia, obviously giggling heavily as they talked together. Glancing out the windows then, she took a chance and squeezed his arm when she saw the same kind of proud smile on his face she knew was on hers. "We should continue," she said, but made no move to fast forward the clip.

"Hey," Ryan said, coming into the doorway then.

Relieved she'd let go of Castle's arm before he'd come, Beckett paused the clip and asked, "Anything?"

"Absolutely clean," Ryan said. "But we took a look at the trash and there was a working typewriter that-"

"They threw away the typewriter?" Castle interrupted. "That's completely bar… baric… Sorry," he said when he noticed the looks Beckett and Ryan were giving him.

"Anyways, sent that in for testing, but we're pretty sure it's the one used for the note," Ryan finished.

"Then it's definitely not a suicide, I can't imagine Martine would toss out the typewriter, that he would care about it if he'd typed that note," Beckett said, playing the clip again.

"Why are-" Ryan started to ask.

"Apparently whoever set up the date and time stamp on this messed up," Castle told him. "What you had was the night before the murder."

"Yeah, do you want me to take over or do you have it?" Ryan asked Beckett.

"I think we're fine," Castle said when she didn't respond. "Okay?" he asked, watching her once they were alone.

"Yes, just, it bothers me," Beckett said. "What if this murder wasn't because of the pregnancy?"

"I've been thinking about that too," Castle agreed with a nod. "But then what exactly is it? Longueville's cleared at the moment… but it could still be Costa, it could be a different motive though."

Beckett didn't reply to that, instead fast forwarding the clip until it got to the time Amber had said she'd been practicing at the new _barre_. Playing the footage she watched with Castle as the young woman was doing the positions before suddenly turning to look off camera. "She's…" she began to say as someone rushed into the room and hugged the dancer.

"She's gay, did you know that?" Castle asked as they watched Amber Holsten kissing the woman holding her.

"No, not that it matters," Beckett said. She suddenly trailed off, as the two women on the screen let go of each other and left, hand in hand. She didn't want to, but her gaze went to the screen, and she swore inwardly as she saw the time.

"Maybe she comes back," Castle said a little grimly as he saw as well.

"We'll see," Beckett said simply, fast forwarding until she saw the dancer back in the room. She looked at the time stamp, and turned around, slamming the remote in her hand on the desk behind them. Leaning against it she then said, "I have to go talk to her."

"Am I staying?" Castle asked as he followed Beckett out of the room.

"I'd prefer you come, but again, let me talk to her," she answered once she was at her desk and switching her blazer for her coat. "Amber Holsten's alibi just disintegrated."

"She wasn't at the classroom?" Ryan asked as he'd joined them.

"No, she left with another woman, came back well after one thirty," Beckett said. "So she had more than enough time to kill her mother and return again."

* * *

"Ms. B- Detective, can I help you?" Amber asked as she opened her apartment door slightly, her eyes growing wide when she saw who it was.

"We need to speak with you Ms. Holsten," Beckett said simply.

"Come inside, please," Amber said.

Before he could follow his fiancée inside, Castle heard a door across the hall open, and turned to see it was the young woman from the security footage, carrying a box. "Beckett," he called.

"We need to speak with you, come inside," Beckett said, when she turned and saw the woman. "You are?"

"Yvette Viñas," the young woman said as she walked inside the room, her accent thick. "What is wrong?"

"We just need to speak to your girlfriend-" Beckett started to say.

"Fiancée," Amber immediately said.

"We'll need to speak with Amber for a moment, and then speak with you," Beckett said, nodding at that. "I'll ask you to stay here in the apartment."

"Of course," Yvette said. "I am moving in my things, so I have no need to leave."

"Is there somewhere we can speak?" Beckett then asked Amber.

"Yeah, this way," Amber said, turning and leading them into a separate bedroom that had been made up into a dance studio. She closed the door after Castle and asked, "Is everything okay?"

"We've run into some problems with your alibi," Beckett said.

"I was where I said I was-" Amber began.

"Actually, we saw you leave with Ms. Viñas," Castle said. "When did you get engaged?"

Closing her eyes tightly, Amber said, "This morning."

"You were hiding this from your mother," Beckett said.

"She would have gotten me fired," Amber said, opening her eyes that had tears in them. "And you know I love teaching those kids. So Yvette and I hid what we had with each other."

"So she helped you?" Castle said.

"Helped me what?" Amber asked.

"You left the studio at around eleven, and you didn't come back until after one thirty," Beckett told her. "Your mother was killed between twelve and two."

"I didn't kill her!" Amber exclaimed, looking horrified. "My mother and I fought about my wanting to teach Saturday classes, but-"

"Why was there an argument about that?" Castle asked. "Because you wanted to teach ballroom?"

"Yes, I have permission from the school, but they told me it's up to my mother if they happen… or it was up to her," Amber said. She sighed and said, "I guess they're out of the question now."

"You're not going to try and keep teaching at the school?" Beckett said, glancing at Castle.

"Well, if I'm assistant to the new teacher, then I guess I'll stay, but they might not want me," Amber said.

"So you don't know," Beckett stated. When the young woman looked at her in confusion; and she could tell it was genuine; she continued, "Your mother made arrangements for you to continue teaching since she was going to leave with Lorenzo Martine to open her own studio."

"You… she did?" Amber asked, looking flabbergasted. When Castle and Beckett both nodded she suddenly burst into tears, and a moment later her fiancée entered the room.

"What is it?" Yvette asked worriedly, hurrying to Amber.

"I think I can speak with you now Ms. Viñas," Beckett said. "Where did you and Amber; Ms. Holsten go after you left the studio at the school two nights ago?"

"We went out to Le Circe," Yvette said simply. "Her mother never goes there, so we took the chance since she was feeling ill, and had a date."

"And you stayed until after one?" Castle said.

"Tell them," Amber said, having stopped crying but shaking a little in her fiancée's arms.

"We came back here, it's not that far from the school, and we… stayed until Amber remembered her things were still in the studio, so she went," Yvette said simply growing a little uncomfortable in the middle before she finished quickly.

"I'll need you both to come with me," Beckett said. "But I want to ask you, was there anything going on with your mother financially?"

"Oh, money wise, of course," Amber said quickly, drying her eyes with a tissue. "I didn't know she was getting a studio, but she was worried about her inheritance."

"Inheritance," Beckett said.

"Yes, my grandfather from France left a large sum of money to her ten years ago, but under her married name, Costa," Amber answered. "She discovered that someone had taken money from it, and was furious and also upset as I suppose that was going to the studio you mentioned and her baby."

"Who has access to that account?" Castle said after he and Beckett had exchanged a look.

"I think my dad, sister and I all do," Amber said, her voice trembling then as she realized she was again implicated.

* * *

"So looking at the footage from Le Circe and then the apartment building, I can clear Amber Holsten," Esposito said, walking up to Beckett who was at her desk.

"And I can confirm the inheritance," Ryan said, standing next to him. "There were some withdrawals that were unauthorized and actually, she was wrong, her sister, dad and her do not have any access."

"Okay, then let me talk to her again, and we can let her go," Beckett said, hoping the relief she felt didn't show up in her tone. She stood and walked over to holding, going to the last cell.

"Am I free to go?" Amber asked hopefully, looking up and seeing her.

"You are, but you do not have access to the account like you thought," Beckett told her before gesturing to the officer in the doorway. "Does your dad think he does?"

"If he did he would have tried to get some money when he went bankrupt. I think, like I said, I don't remember really seeing my dad, so…" Amber said, stepping out. She started to leave but then stopped and turned to Beckett. "If the school still allows me to teach, would you have any problem with it?"

"No," Beckett replied simply. She watched as the young woman smiled faintly and then left, seeing Castle coming up behind her. "She's guessing about her dad," she told him as she walked down to him, taking her blue mug he held out to her. "Thanks."

"I wonder if her sister knows more about him?" Castle suggested as he followed her out to her desk.

"Espo, call Amy Holsten, see what she knows about her dad, tell her we need any information she can give us," Beckett said when her phone rang. Taking it from her pocket, she saw that it was Lanie and she answered.

Watching his fiancée, Castle was a little surprised when she said, "Really? Alright, we'll be there." "She's got something?" he asked once she'd hung up.

"She does, which means it's another murder," Beckett said simply. "Ryan, we're heading to the morgue, I want you to find out how exactly the vic could get that money from the inheritance account, see if you get security footage of any kind."

Riding down in the elevator Castle said, "Think they'll keep her at the school?"

"I hope so," Beckett said, shaking her head. "And that this was the last time we look at her as a possible suspect."

"You're not going to tell Julia about this," Castle pointed out to her.

"No, but I don't want to have to tell her her favorite teacher was arrested for murdering her mother," Beckett said simply. She then sighed slightly and said, "Our daughter is too surrounded by death."

"With your-" Castle started to say.

"Our," Beckett cut in quickly.

"Line of work," Castle said. "It's bound to happen."

Stepping out of the car into parking, Beckett had to concede he was right, but she pushed the thought aside as she turned her focus to the case again. She couldn't help wishing she could pick up Julia from school, knowing her daughter was going to miss dancing especially. But she checked her watch and saw there was no chance, Julia was already out, and she herself was far from being finished with work. Shaking the thought, she got in the car trying to get her attention on what Lanie might have for them at the morgue.

* * *

"So I'm just going to get it set that this was no suicide," Lanie was saying as she led Beckett and Castle to the body of Lorenzo Martine. "You're right about that. What we have is a double murder."

"Because there are two victims?" Castle asked.

"No, I mean murder as in two methods, though one was enough," Lanie said. "First, we did toxicology; and it's why I took so long to get back in touch with you again."

"Succinylcholine?" Beckett asked. "Well, if he bought a big enough vial, I'm pretty sure the killer finished it off with him."

"Waste not, want not," Castle commented. "And he was shot."

"That's the interesting part, the succinylcholine's going to relax the muscles, so having him pull the trigger would be pretty difficult," Lanie explained.

"He had help," Castle said.

"He did, and there were some fibers in the trigger of the gun he used," Lanie said. "Also on the body and they match; which is why I'm telling you and not CSU."

"So the killer got his finger caught in the trigger," Beckett said.

"And was wearing gloves so it got caught. But CSU told us there were absolutely no fingerprints," Castle said. "Which doesn't make sense."

"Unless the killer took the vic to the apartment already dead," Beckett said. "No one saw anything in the canvass though, and there's of course no security footage of them since they probably went through the maintenance entrance and then stairwell. Is there anything else?"

"He was stabbed with the needle," Lanie commented. "In the face, here," she said, gesturing to the vic's left cheek.

"Which suggests anger," Beckett said.

"And a psychopath," Castle said. "He gets Martine to buy the drug he's going to use to kill the mother of his child; children; and then kills him with it too. You think it's them both he wanted?"

"Since they waited so long to kill him, I'm thinking it's because the killer was afraid Martine was going to spill to us who they were; likely out of guilt once he realized that he contributed to her death. He must have found out after we talked to him and went to the accomplice," Beckett answered. "If you have anything else Lanie, let me know."

"Of course," the doctor said, before giving her a look.

Narrowing her eyes for a moment, Beckett shook her head and turned around, leaving as Castle rushed after her. "Before you ask," she said, turning to him in the hall.

"I got it," he quickly said. "A hint to you… something about me?"

"Something like that, I try and ignore them," Beckett said. She had her phone out and just as she was going to call Ryan, her phone suddenly started to ring. "It's Esposito," she said. "Beckett. Wait, she what? Just now… okay, Manhattan General? Okay, we'll go ahead and speak with her. Thanks Espo, bye." Hanging up her phone she took Castle by the arm so they were walking down the hall to leave and said, "He just got in touch with Amy Holsten." She saw Castle's questioning look and said, "She was just assaulted in an alley by her father."

* * *

"Detective, oh… I thought Detective Esposito would be coming to talk with me," Amy Holsten said as she saw Beckett and Castle walk into her hospital room.

"I'm leading the investigation," Beckett said simply, trying not to get irritated as she recalled what the woman had said; indirectly; about Julia. "Are you up to telling us what happened?" she asked, since Amy's face was awash with bruises and thin cuts.

"Yeah, I'm, a little woozy from painkillers, but not out," Amy said.

"Why don't you start with where you were, do you remember what time it was?" Beckett asked as the woman didn't continue.

"Um, it was just after lunch, after I ate lunch… twelve thirty or around that," Amy began. "And I was leaving the café, the Bellagio Café. I was looking at my phone, and just as I put it away, I was pulled into this alley and that's all I can remember in detail before the attack happened."

"You remember it was your father though," Castle said.

"How do you remember it was him though? According to what we know of your mother, she left him and never let you see him," Beckett said.

"She had one picture of him, so we would know what he looked like," Amy said. "And even though he had a horrible beard and was dressed like a homeless man, it was him. And… I have seen him actually," she said.

"Before two nights ago?" Beckett asked.

Nodding, Amy said, her hands twisting the blanket that was covering her lap, "He came to me about three weeks ago, and demanded that I give him money or else he'd kill me and my sister."

"And you did," Castle said.

"Yes, my mother has… had an account for an inheritance she got," Amy said. "And I was able to pose as my mother on the phone, and give her code which I found one day, and I took the money and gave it to him."

"How did you get it to him?" Beckett asked.

"He would mail postcards with an address instead of a message," Amy explained. "He asked three times, and then that was it, and then my mother was dead."

"Do you think he killed her?" Castle asked.

"I do, he… he always hated my mother for taking us out of his life," Amy said.

"But why would he do that now if he did kill them?" Beckett asked.

"Because my mom was pregnant," Amy said.

"How did you know?" Beckett said, looking at Castle.

"He told me," Amy said. "My father, he… the reason my mom left him, or kicked him out; whatever; is because he was so possessive he would never let her dance, see her friends, anything. She was supposed to stay home with me and Amber, and that was it. And cater to him."

"How did he find out?" Castle asked.

"He kept an eye on her," Amy said. "He said he dressed as a homeless man-"

"Actually, he was homeless," Beckett interrupted. "He has nothing, which would explain why he came to you for money."

"I wondered that myself, if he was rich why he was trying to get more money from me, I thought what I heard of him going bankrupt was just a rumor," Amy said slowly. "I thought it was just because he hated _Maman_."

"You mentioned your mother saying she was bothered by a homeless man before," Castle said. "Could that have been your father?"

"Maybe," Amy replied. "I'm sorry I can't really tell you anything else besides that."

"You're sure there was never any way to contact him?" Beckett asked, knowing they desperately needed to find Costa.

"No, if he's homeless, then I'm not surprised I had to get in touch with him the way I did," Amy said simply.

"Did you know he's become mentally unstable?" Beckett asked as she and Castle stood up.

"Oh," Amy breathed. "That would explain why he was so angry and then a little… tender towards me, calling me his baby girl."

"Can I ask how you don't remember him if you're three years older than your sister? You have absolutely no memory of him from before your sister was born," Castle said before Beckett nudged his side.

"My mother kicked him out of our lives about six weeks after I was born, and took him back right before she got pregnant with my sister," Amy said. "I was only two and a half then, so I don't remember him then. And when she found out she was pregnant he actually left; my mother was pretty demanding; but he tried to come back when Amber was born and she wouldn't let him close to the baby. So she's never seen him at all."

"We'll be keeping an officer outside your door, for your safety," Beckett said, knowing there was nothing else she could tell them. Before she turned to follow Castle out she asked, "Do you know a Lorenzo Martine?"

"Sure, he's the chorographer for the Sleeping Beauty show my troupe is doing. I'm going to be in the Romeo and Juliet show that'll start tomorrow actually," Amy said. "At least I hope so," she said as she touched her face, grimacing.

"Do you have an understudy?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, but I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that," Amy said. "Why did you asked about Mr. Martine?"

"Well, it turns out that your mother was going to leave Mt. Surrey to open a dance studio with him," Beckett said. She hesitated to continue, but knew she had to finish saying, "He was also the father of the twins your mother was carrying."

"He's… wait, he was," Amy asked, looking up at them in surprise.

"He was killed this morning," Beckett said. "Can I ask where you were between five and seven?"

"It… I was practicing again at the Met, from five to seven, after I practiced with the other cast members and then went to lunch with them and it was after I was leaving that I was attacked," Amy said, looking suddenly frantic.

"We'll check on that," Beckett said. "If you hear from your father in any way, contact me," she told the young woman, handing her her card.

"I'm not going to forgive her for what she said about Julia," Castle said after they had left once Beckett had spoken to the officer outside the room. "But I get the feeling she's telling the truth." He wasn't surprised when his fiancée didn't say anything, and asked, "You don't?"

"Oh, I do, I just have a very hard time believing Costa could do all this," Beckett said. "And what he would do with that money…"

"He's Spanish," Castle said. "Remember the case with Asturias?"

"You make a valid point," Beckett said as she realized what he was talking about. "Time to broaden our search."

* * *

"So we got nothing on Philippe Costa," Esposito said, walking up to where Beckett was standing at the murder board.

"Nothing? No bank statements, or homeless shelters?" she asked as she and Castle turned to him.

"Afraid not, and I used both names, Costa and Bueno," Esposito said. "Drawing a blank with both, so he is a shadow."

"Or a ghost," Castle said.

"Might have to agree with you bro, he's pretty much gone," Esposito said.

"Did you contact the Post Offices that the postcards were postmarked from?" Beckett asked, having received them from Amy Holsten shortly after they'd gotten back to the station.

"They're going to send the footage tomorrow," Ryan said. "Because no one was there when I called."

Looking at her watch, Beckett sighed as she saw it was five and said, "Anything from the cameras around the homeless shelter Costa was last in?"

"He goes into the nearest subway station, and I called them for the footage and they're sending it over in an hour," Ryan said.

"Okay, well, you guys stayed late last night, so go ahead home, I'll wait for the footage," Beckett said to Esposito and Ryan.

"I got this," Esposito told the others. "I don't have plans, he's got dinner with Jenny's parents tonight," he told Beckett and Castle as he nodded to his partner.

"Thanks man, I didn't want to explain to my wife that we were going to have to cancel this dinner," Ryan said as he and Esposito bumped fists.

"And you can go home to Julia, you to that girlfriend of yours," Esposito said.

"She's working, so I guess I'll just head out," Castle said. "Call me if you get any major breaks?" he asked Beckett.

"Sure," she said before she turned to Esposito. "I'm going to spend a few minutes in the gym, but I'll come down when I'm finished and-"

"Your daughter Beckett, come on, you said she's worried about us finding who did this to her teacher," he said as Ryan headed to his desk to pack up. "And I'm guessing it's stressing you out if you need to head to the gym."

"Yeah," Beckett sighed. "Okay, once you get the subway footage, you can head home yourself or to a bar or whatever. Thank you."

"You're welcome, go," Esposito said before he went to his desk.

Grabbing her things to take upstairs with her, Beckett read the text message that Castle had sent her, and sent a reply before heading up. She tried to shake off her exasperation at what he'd told her in the text, but knew there would be no convincing him otherwise as she headed into the locker room.

* * *

The thud of the punching bag being hit repeatedly soothed her, and she didn't stop until her muscles in her arms were begging her to. As she stretched them, stepping away from the bag, Beckett glanced around and breathed out heavily. She'd been punching for a while by then, trying to get all her frustrations out on the bag. But she didn't feel all that better and decided to stop, starting to take off her gloves. She knew the only thing that she could do was go home, and hope that Julia understood they hadn't found the killer yet.

The sudden memory of Julia crying after she'd arrived at the Precinct made Beckett so angry that she lashed out, socking the punching bag one more time, as hard as she could. Luckily the glove on that hand was still on, so she hit it a few more times before stalking away before she broke her hand even with the protection she was using. Going inside the locker room, she showered hurriedly, as she still wanted to see her daughter and fiancé, though she knew Castle was still likely waiting.

Thinking of that, Beckett texted him as he'd asked her to do once she was finished, and left as soon as she was bundled up since it was threatening rain that night. Leaving through the lobby, she wasn't too surprised when Castle fell into step next to her as she was going down the steps. "What did you do?" she asked simply as he handed her a cup from a coffee shop down the street.

"Had some coffee, caught up on e-mails… read," he answered simply as he tried to hail a cab. "That's spearmint, to calm you down," he told her. "I figured you'd be rough on yourself whatever you were doing in the gym."

"Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you," Beckett said before taking a sip.

"Of course it is," Castle said confidently in the hopes of coaxing a smile from her. But he wasn't all that surprised when his fiancée only rolled her eyes, and he hurried to open the door to the cab that had stopped for them. Once they were on the way to his place he said, "I called my mom, she said Julia's doing alright but is asking about us."

Watching as Castle took her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles she quickly said, "I'm okay, just… going to be sore."

"I figured," he said before they continued in silence. "Did you check on Espo when you left?" he was asking her as they walked through the lobby of his building a little later.

"No, I know he'll call once he gets something," Beckett said. "I'd like to focus on Julia now; she's going to want to know if we caught the killer."

"I was thinking about that myself. What should we tell her?" Castle asked.

"The truth," Beckett said, though it was accompanied by a slight sigh. By then they were nearly to his floor, and she leaned against him saying, "I was a little too rough with the bag."

"Legs?" Castle asked.

"Arms," Beckett said.

"Okay, I still have the cream here last time you decided to assault the bag in the station gym, so just let me know when to get started," Castle said, clapping his hands together. He was relieved when he got a little smile out of her then, and wrapped his arm around her as they left the elevator.

"Dad," Beckett said in surprise as Castle let her walk into his place first. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching Julia," Jim Beckett said, standing up as Julia rushed to her mother with a squeal. "I swung by the school at the same time as Martha, so we decided to take her out for a snack."

"Oh sweetie, I missed you too," Beckett whispered into her daughter's ear as she could tell from Julia's grip what she didn't say. She kissed her temple and then handed her to Castle, smiling when Julia pressed her cheek to his.

"I missed you and Castle Mommy," the little girl said to them in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"We missed you too," Castle assured her. "Did you order Mother?" he asked as Martha was walking to the kitchen with her nearly empty wine glass.

"I did, it should be here in ten minutes," Martha answered. "We decided, after our snack," she told Beckett. "To have a review of all the steps she has learned so it stays fresh. Remember what I told you Julia."

"Practice makes perfect," she said with a wide smile on her face. "Martha and Grandpapa said I was good still."

"Good to hear," Castle said, kissing her temple before he set her down. "Why don't you get changed for dinner though?"

"I'll take her," Beckett said, taking Julia's hand before heading upstairs.

"How goes the case?" Martha asked her son.

"We have a lead… of sorts, the father of the vic's daughters," Castle answered, looking at Jim since he was listening to their conversation.

"Miss Amber's father?" Martha said.

"Yeah, do you remember ever seeing the older daughter, Miss Amy there?" Castle asked.

"Not really, but Miss Amber isn't a suspect is she?" Martha asked.

"She almost was which put Kate in a really bad mood and I don't blame her," Castle answered.

"Julia loves Miss Amber doesn't she?" Jim asked. When Castle nodded he said, "So she isn't a suspect anymore. What about the father?"

"We're trying to look for him, Esposito's actually still at the station, looking through subway security footage," Castle explained.

"Is Katie alright," Jim then said.

"I think so," Castle said, glancing up and ending in a whisper as he saw Beckett was coming down, Julia in her arms. He suddenly remembered her arms, and he hurried to her, taking the little girl.

"It's okay, they'll be sore later," Beckett said with a slight smile at his consideration. She kissed Julia's cheek and went to her dad saying, "Do you have any plans Sunday?"

"No, oh, it's Easter isn't it?" Jim asked.

"We're gonna look for eggs Grandpapa, will you come too?" Julia asked, running to him since Castle had set her down.

"I think so," Jim said, leaning down and picking her up.

"You're invited to Easter dinner as well," Martha said. "The more the merrier of course, since we don't have Alexis here."

"How is she doing?" Jim asked when the doorbell rang.

Watching as Castle took two bags of food from the delivery man, Beckett asked, "Italian?" unable to really pinpoint the smell of the food at first.  
"Your favorite," he answered simply, setting the bags on the counter. "Hong Kong Gate."

"I get the feeling you're trying to suck up to me," Beckett said, her eyes narrowed at him playfully.

"No, I just thought, since this case was a little harder, you might appreciate this," Castle said.

"And I do, thank you," Beckett said, kissing him on the lips. It was brief, and she wasn't too surprised at feeling unsatisfied as they parted and started to get plates ready so they could eat.

Dinner was more cheerful than Castle had expected, they all talked to Julia about her class that day, and the little girl responded. She still sounded a little sad, but he was relieved that she seemed to be doing a lot better. He wasn't too surprised when half way through the meal she climbed up onto her mother's lap, eating there. "Stay," he told Beckett when they were finished. "I'll take care of this tonight; you can handle the dishes tomorrow."

Watching as Martha joined her son in the kitchen, Jim asked, "Are you staying over that often?"

"Go get your picture you drew for me sweetie," Beckett told her daughter. When Julia had gone to the coffee table she quickly said to her father, "We are, we're actually thinking of just moving Kauai here, but luckily we found a feeder for him. But yeah, we do stay here mostly."

"She doesn't mind?" Jim asked.

"Oh no," was all that Beckett could say in response as Julia was coming back to them with a piece of paper. Taking her daughter on her lap again she had her explain her drawing while Castle was setting out dessert.

"I think I should head back home," Jim said once they had finished their slices of cheesecake. "It's still not raining so I should take the chance I have to go."

"Thank you for my milkshake Grandpapa," Julia said, hurrying around the table to where he was standing.

"You're very welcome," Jim said, picking her up and kissing her cheek. "I'll pick you up tomorrow remember."

"No trials Dad?" Beckett asked, walking after him to the door after he'd thanked Castle and Martha for dinner.

"Some paperwork, which doesn't take all that long," Jim said. "And I feel like I haven't spent enough time with my granddaughter lately. So I'm taking her to the movies tomorrow."

"Yeah, the one with the puppy like I saw at Christmas," Julia said.

"That should be a good movie," Castle said with a smile. "Get back safe Jim."

"I will, thank you Castle," he said, nodding in response. "Okay, goodnight Julia, I love you," he said as Castle and Martha went to the kitchen to give them some privacy.

"I love you too Grandpapa," Julia said, sharing a kiss with him before she hugged him. "See you at my school tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Jim said, setting her down. "Are you alright Katie?"

"My arms are sore, and I'm frustrated with this case," Beckett said since Julia had gone to Martha. "But other than that I'm just glad to be home."

"I know, I can tell Julia's feeling the same way too. Is she okay?" Jim then asked.

"I think so, we're hoping tonight she doesn't have a nightmare, like she did last-" Beckett started to say.

"She told me," Jim interrupted her. "Do you need to take her back to her doctor?"

"Not unless it becomes a recurring thing," Beckett said.

"Let's hope it doesn't," Jim said. He hugged his daughter before he told her, "I'll take her home after the movie, and we'll have dinner together. Just let me know where to bring her."

"I will Dad, thank you for getting her today," Beckett said as he left the apartment. "Night." She closed the door when he was down the hall, and locked it after her before she looked at her watch.

"She doesn't have to go to bed does she?" Martha asked as she and Julia walked over to the couch.

"Pretty soon," Beckett said. "But I think we can do something before I need to give you a bath."

"Play a game?" Julia asked.

"I'll grab some popcorn," Castle said, turning to the cabinets.

"I'll get her some milk," Martha said, returning to the kitchen.

"Come here sweetie," Beckett said, holding her hand out to her daughter. "We'll pick the game together okay?" She smiled when Julia skipped over to her, taking her hand. As they went to where Castle kept the few games he'd had already in his office, she couldn't help hug her daughter to her tightly for a moment, smiling when Julia hugged her back tightly in response as she murmured she loved her, relieved she seemed to be doing alright.

* * *

"That was an epic game of UNO I have to say," Castle said. "I thought you'd pick something else… Candyland maybe."

"I like to say Uno," Julia giggled. "It's fun, did you like playing?" she asked Martha then seriously.

"Of course darling," Martha said, cupping her chin. "It was very fun, and we'll have to play it again sometime, just us two. Do you think you can?"

"If you play with just colors, not the numbers," Beckett said. "Though you could play practice games with her to get her used to reading the numbers."

"That's fun too," Julia said, getting off her chair then with her mother's help. She ran around the table to Castle who was shuffling the cards and asked, "How do you do that?"

"Well, it takes a while to get it just right," Castle said, showing her as he flicked the halves of the deck together to her smile. "And I think you need hands just a little bit bigger than yours are right now. But I promise once you get older, I'll teach you if you want."

"Might as well get started teaching her poker," Martha said, standing up with her glass. "Goodnight everyone."

"Night Martha," Beckett said as Julia went to her.

"Thank you for my snack, it was fun going with you and my grandpapa," Julia was telling Castle's mother.

"It was a pleasure kiddo, sweet dreams," Martha said, leaning down to kiss her cheek before the little girl kissed hers. "Goodnight Julia," she said before she went to the stairs.  
"Okay," Beckett said, watching as Castle put the deck of cards into its box. "Now you need a bath and to bed Julia." She started to stand up when her phone rang, and she saw was it Esposito. "Beckett," she said when she answered.

Looking on as she began to talk to Esposito, Castle let Julia put the cards back where they'd been, and listened in on his fiancée's half of the conversation.

"Yes, okay, I'll… wait, actually, I need to talk to Julia for a second, let me put this on hold," Beckett said as Esposito had information on Costa for her. She put her phone on mute and called, "Espo?" to check it was working. With no answer on the other end she looked at Castle and Julia and said, "Can you give her a bath?"

"Oh, sure," Castle said. When Beckett went back on the phone, he looked down at Julia who was looking up at him a little seriously. "Come on," he said, knowing she didn't want her daughter to hear as Beckett went to his office then. He picked Julia up and said, "You don't have to let me give you a bath okay?"

"But Mommy said," Julia said softly as they went into Alexis' room.

"I know, but if it makes you uncomfortable, we'll wait for her to finish on the phone okay?" Castle asked.

Julia was quiet as he sat on the end of the bed with her, and she finally asked, "Did you give Alexis baths when she was like me?"

"When she was five too you mean?" Castle asked. Julia nodded and he smiled a little saying, "Of course, up until she was old enough to take baths and showers on her own. She showed you those pictures I took of her in the bath with her bath toys, well, I was helping her wash up and wash her hair too."

Biting at her lower lip for a moment, Julia then said, "You can give me a bath. Mommy's tired," she continued as Castle looked surprised at that. "And that way she doesn't have to work more."

"That a good point," Castle nodded, remembering as well that Beckett's arms were starting to become sore from her workout. He was touched, since he knew; though Julia wouldn't say; that she trusted him more with that. Picking her up again, he carried her into the bathroom and let her help him fill the tub with water, bubbles and a few toys before he helped her undress. He was worried she was going to panic once she was stepping into the water, but she didn't really react and he had to wonder if him telling her about giving baths to Alexis; as well as the pictures of Alexis with her bath toys; helped her. But he had to focus then on Julia, since he knew Beckett had planned to wash her daughter's hair and he couldn't leave her in the water for too long. So rolling up his shirt sleeves, he knelt next to the tub, getting the second strongest feeling of déjà vu he'd ever had since that morning.

Julia watched as Castle picked up the cup her mother used to rinse her hair and leaned back her head a little. "You did this too?" she asked, shivering as he ran his hand after the water.

"I did, she didn't like it too much," Castle said. "That's why I'm glad I get to give you a bath. I almost would have to throw her in the tub… well, not really throw her. But to get her in…" He whistled to Julia's giggle as she wiped water from her forehead, and got some shampoo on his hands before saying, "But once she was in and she had her toys, she would calm down. So thank you for not making me promise to let you have sugar for breakfast to get you in here."

"Mommy would be mad if you did that," Julia said in a matter of fact tone as he was lathering her hair.

"She would be, so I think we're both pretty lucky," Castle agreed.

"That she's my mommy?" Julia asked before he rinsed her hair.

"And that she wants to marry me. I'm really lucky," Castle said in an exaggerated tone of voice, seeing the little girl's smile.

"Can I ask something?" Julia asked after they were quiet for a while.

"Ask away sweetheart," Castle said, rinsing the conditioner from her hair by then.

"When… when are you and Mommy gonna get married?" Julia said shyly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye but then looking quickly away.

"Do you want us to still?" Castle asked, pausing as he picked up her washcloth. He was relieved when Julia nodded hurriedly and he said, "Your mom and I explained to you that we need to wait until the summer to get married. But we will get married, I promise. And I know if your mom was here she'd promise too."

"Kay," Julia said as she held out her arm for him to start washing. "I wash my legs and my feet by myself."

"I know, you're growing up," Castle said as he washed her back last and rinsed her off before handing her the washcloth. He cleaned her ears while she took care of her legs under the water, and then said, "You can play for a little, but just really quick because I think you're running late for bed today. Oh, do you want to wait for your mom to get you out?"

"That's kay, you can do that too," Julia said, picking up the foam shapes floating around her and sticking them on the wall.

Castle sat down and watched her make different buildings with the shapes before she attempted a horse. After he'd admired it for her, he got her out and dried her off, waiting still to see if she'd be nervous or panicked. But she seemed to be fine as they both worked to get her dressed in her pajamas and he dried her hair the best he could. "Okay, stay here because I forgot to grab you some socks," he told her, putting her in her robe. "I just want to get the water drained and everything cleaned up before we go out."

Julia stood by, watching as he cleaned everything before he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. "Thank you," she said suddenly as he was putting her socks on.

"You're welcome," Castle said, sitting next to her when he finished. "Can I have a kiss?" He smiled when Julia nodded, and he leaned down to kiss her before pulling back and putting her on his lap.

"Can I tell you something now? And you won't tell Mommy?" Julia eventually asked as they could hear Beckett was still on the phone.

"Go ahead," Castle told her.

"I asked Mommy what I asked you, she said you will get married, but later in summer maybe. And she wants to still get married still," Julia told him nervously.

"I'm really glad to hear that," Castle said, kissing her forehead. He started to speak when he heard that his fiancée had stopped speaking and he said, "Here she comes."

"Sorry, I had to wait for Espo to look at something," Beckett said as she entered the room to see Julia in Castle's arms, her hair wrapped up in a towel. "Thanks for giving her a bath," she said with a smile as she took her daughter from him. "Her hair?"

"I want you to brush Mommy," Julia said quickly as her mother set her down on the bed. She giggled when Beckett took off the towel and her still damp locks; turned a deep brown by the water; fell around her eyes.

"Sit still sweetie," Beckett said as she took Julia's brush Castle handed to her. She grabbed his wrist before he could leave her, and pulled on slightly until they shared a quick kiss.

Castle was tempted to linger, but knew they needed to get Julia to bed; and there was the fact that she was watching them. So he sat in front of the little girl on the edge of the bed and said, "I almost forgot, you didn't tell us about the flowers you learned about today in school."

"Oh!" Julia said, perking up instantly at that. "Remember I said we learned about the months and birthday?" When both her mother and Castle nodded she continued with, "She told us about January and February, and the last one is different, but the first one is carnations and then the next one in England are violets and the next one here is a primrose."

"Did you see pictures?" Beckett asked finishing brushing out Julia's hair.

"Yeah, the last ones are pretty. Oh, and Mrs. Clayton said the first one, the carnation, comes in lots of colors and it's the flower for Spain," Julia said.

"Sounds like you're learning a lot, more than I knew," Castle said as he picked up Julia, lifting her above his head a little before laying her down on the bed.

"Did you know about that?" Julia asked as he pulled the covers up until she could put her arms over them.

"Not about the Spain part," Castle said. "One day, I'm taking you and your mom there."

"Like Grandpapa goes?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Yep, but for now, we've got Sunday to look forward to," Castle told her.

"I can't wait to see the eggs," Julia told him. She hugged him as he leaned down then, and shared a kiss with him before lying back down.

"I love you Julia, sweet dreams," Castle said, not surprised she only nodded. He kissed the top of her head and then moved to let Beckett say goodnight.

Squeezing his arm as he passed her, Beckett sat down next to Julia and hugged her tightly saying, "Sweet dreams Julia, I love you so much."

"Love you too Mommy," Julia replied, smiling before they shared a kiss. She settled under the covers as Beckett covered her completely, holding her Stitch doll to her. She watched her mother and Castle stand in the doorway, watching her, and that was all she remembered before nodding off to sleep.

Downstairs, Castle asked, "Anything new?"

"Well, we have an area to look around to find Costa," Beckett replied as they went to his office where she'd left the pad of paper she'd been writing on. "Around Harlem, there's apparently a homeless shelter he prefers to use when it rains."

"Any clue which one or do we need to wait for tomorrow?" Castle asked.

"That was what took me so long, Esposito was looking at the camera footage he could get to track Costa, but there was a gap and we lost him. It's about two square miles; the security gap, but there are about four shelters there and since they're basically closed…" Beckett explained.

"We have a better chance now to find him though," Castle pointed out.

"We do, which is great," Beckett said, tearing off the paper she'd written on. She was going to take it to her bag so Julia wouldn't find it, when Castle took it from her. "Thank you, but you didn't need to," she told him as she followed him out.

"How're your arms?" Castle asked as he walked back to her.

"Yeah, I know, but putting a piece of paper away isn't going to be that much of a struggle," Beckett said, knowing he'd been helping her out because of that.

"No, what I'm saying is, how do you feel about taking a bath," Castle asked, taking her arm and leading her to his room. "With me."

"It depends," Beckett said, looking at him.

"Not that kind of bath," Castle said honestly.

"Good, because I'm a little tired," Beckett told him as he closed the door behind him but didn't lock it.

"Well, that'll happen when someone wakes you up at who knows what time and is a little needy…" Castle said jokingly as they went into the bathroom.

Beckett didn't reply to that, instead turned to him, and slid her arms over his shoulders as he was quick to hold her. She kissed him, Castle meeting her halfway and their lips locking together firmly, in a way making up for them not being able to do that since they'd made love that morning. She could feel his hands sliding up under her blouse, and she shivered in pleasure, pulling away to look into his eyes intently. She leaned into him at the same time he was, kissing passionately and more than a little frantically as they clung to each other tightly.

* * *

Watching Beckett closely as he worked the muscle cream into her right shoulder, hearing her groaning lightly under her breath in response, Castle said, "How badly did it get beat up this time?"

"Bad enough," Beckett said shortly, looking over her shoulder as he moved to her left side. She sighed as he rubbed against her back and worked up to her shoulder. "You sound a little… annoyed, I thought you love doing this."

Castle didn't answer that, instead mumbled a few words before he finally spoke saying, "You notice at all I've had to do this more and more often?"

Turning to him, and a little surprised he didn't look down at her bare breasts, Beckett said, "What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that," Castle sighed, closing the tube and getting up to wash his hands. "Ever since the plane crash you'll do this when you need to wear your vest."

Crossing her arms over her chest though he was finished, Beckett didn't say anything until he was sitting across from her. Finally she had to sigh and said, "I can't help but be afraid every time I put it on. Afraid that I will not get the chance to take it back off again and come home to her."

Nodding, since he could still see her scar even with her arms in the way, Castle said, "I don't know if it's such a great idea for you to do that though. But… it probably helps you get your frustrations out. And at least it's not me you're working that out with. It would be pretty rough."

"It wouldn't be sexually," Beckett said.

"Oh, then really good you don't take it out on me," Castle said, getting up as he realized she was shaking from cold.

"It's not just me I'm concerned about," Beckett said as he came back to the bed with her shirt. "Thanks."

"Me too," Castle stated, not surprised at her nod. He waited for her to put on the blue, long sleeved shirt; taking a quick moment to admire her breasts as she raised her arms; before saying, "Is that why you added my mom to your will?"

"Even though I really, really didn't want to," Beckett sighed deeply.

"It's better that way… just in case," Castle said, taking her hand and pulling her to him. Once she was in his arms; sitting on his lap; he whispered, "You didn't ask me how the bath went," as he wanted to change the subject badly.

Smiling, Beckett said, "I was there, it was nice." She couldn't help but softly laugh at his exhale, which sounded irritated, and then said, "How was it?"

"It went pretty well, I really thought she was going to freak out at the idea of me helping her undress," Castle said. "But before we went into the bathroom, she did ask if I had done that for Alexis at that age."

"That helped then," Beckett said with a nod. She smiled again and leaned her cheek against his shoulder saying, "So she was fine the entire time?"

"She was," Castle said, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. He felt her moving, and a second later heard her yawning and smirked a little saying, "You really wore yourself out this morning."

"You would have done the same thing. And you are too, we had a normal bath for once," Beckett said, rolling her eyes as she moved to slide under the covers as he let her go. She sat up as he started to walk around the bed, and heard a soft knock on the door.

Going over to it quickly, he knew already who it was but wondered why she was there. "Sweetheart?" he said when he didn't see her outside in the entry to his room. He then looked at the shadows next to the pedestal, and spotted her striped pajamas. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, picking Julia up and carrying her into the room.

"Julia, did you have a nightmare?" Beckett said when she saw Castle carrying her. She held her arms out to her daughter and cuddled her close once she was in her embrace.

"No, I woke up and I was alone, I didn't like it," Julia replied, shaking.

"You're freezing," Castle said, getting on the bed and feeling her bare feet.

"Of course she is, you took off your socks sweetie, you know you're not supposed to," Beckett said, kissing her forehead as Castle tucked her legs under the covers.

"I don't like them," Julia said. "Can I sleep here with you and Castle?"

Sighing as she looked at her daughter and then fiancée, Beckett knew she needed to take Julia back to bed. But looking at them, she found she couldn't say no and instead said, "Why don't you ask Castle?"

"Oh, I think she knows what I would say already," he quickly responded. "You can stay," he told Julia, who was looking up at him expectantly.

"Thank you," the little girl said with a smile.

"Just for tonight, tomorrow you're staying in your bed okay?" Beckett said, moving down to lie on the pillow with Julia next to her. They watched as Castle climbed in under the sheets and she kissed her daughter before she watched her kiss him goodnight. "Get some sleep sweetie," she whispered as he turned off the light before lying back down with them. She watched as Julia's eyes began to flutter open and closed as they were quiet, and was relieved when finally she fell asleep.

"You want to know something?" Castle asked.

"What?" Beckett said, whispering as he was.

"I think she came down here as much for you as for herself," Castle commented.

"She knows I have you," Beckett replied.

"Not on nights when you're more tired or stressed out," Castle said.

Smiling a little and brushing her lips over Julia's temple as she realized he was right, Beckett motioned to him with her hand and when he leaned over to her she whispered, "Then I have you both at least," before they kissed.

The room was quiet, only the whispers of, "I love you Castle" and "I love you too Kate," breaking it before the two lay down on either side of Julia. The shadows of rain trailing over the windows ran over the wall opposite the bed, where they all slept deeply, calmly, through the storm.


	8. Can't Say I've Found Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lyric in this chapter from the song Living in the Material World by George Harrison, from his album of the same name.
> 
> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Beware My Love by Paul McCartney, from the Wings album Wings at the Speed of Sound.

Opening her eyes, Beckett looked over at Castle and saw that he was watching her and Julia, who had snuggled against her. "Morning," she said, with a slight smile as she leaned down and kissed the top of her daughter's head.

"Morning, I've mentioned you two are very cute like this right?" Castle asked.

"You've mentioned, and I'm so glad you don't have a camera," Beckett said, slowly extricating herself from Julia. She glanced at Castle as he got out of bed then, but then turned her attention back to getting her arm out from under the little girl before she saw he was going around to her side. "What?" she asked, finally free and sitting up slightly to look at him.

"I forgot to mention something last night," Castle said, sitting on the edge next to her.

"What?" Beckett asked.

"That I'm the same way," Castle replied easily. He wasn't surprised she looked a little confused at that, but then finished saying, as he pulled her out from under the covers, "I need you both as much too."

"Is this-" was all Beckett could say before he crushed her lips with his own. She was touched by what he'd said, but had wanted to try and joke so he couldn't see how much it'd meant to hear him say that. When they parted, she followed him willingly to the armchair in the corner of the room, sitting on his lap as they watched Julia who was sleeping on her stomach then, her head turned towards them.

"You ever expected this?" Castle couldn't help asking her.

"You mean once we started dating? I don't see how I could really," Beckett said when he nodded to her question. She bit her lower lip and looked to him saying in a whisper, "You're sure this is what you want?"

Knowing she was asking about Julia, Castle didn't reply for a moment before he finally said, "I'm sure, and I'd like more too, of course."

"Of course," Beckett said, looking at her daughter as she wasn't sure exactly if she wanted to ask if he was talking about them getting married, or more kids.

"But yeah, this… never really thought of settling down again to this degree," Castle said. "But four years of following you really makes it appealing."

"How?" Beckett asked, turning to look at him.

"It's made us both different and I think I'm enjoying how we've changed," Castle said. "Especially you."

"If you're fishing for something…" Beckett began. When Castle merely shook his head she leaned down and brushed her lips across his whispering, "Then you and I are definitely in agreement. But there's something else."

"What?" Castle asked as she pulled away to look into his eyes.

"We are together too," Beckett began. She then leaned over to his ear and whispered, "And I'm talking about when we're alone as well."

Shuddering at that in pleasure, Castle pulled her down to close the gap between them, and Beckett was very accommodating as they kissed yet again. They completely forgot about Julia for the time being, and would have continued to if she hadn't made her way over to them, starting to shake his knee.

Pulling away from Castle with a slight gasp, Beckett looked to see it was her daughter. "Sweetie, did we… wait," she said with a laugh as Julia was trying to climb up on her lap. She tried to get off of Castle, but he wrapped his arm around her, holding her to his side. "Here," she told Julia, helping her climb up onto Castle's lap. "Did we wake you up?" she asked the little girl.

"No, you didn't say anything," Julia replied, leaning against Castle.

"That's true, we were busy," he commented, laughing a little when Beckett pushed his side. "You know," he said then, looking at them both. "I kind of feel like Santa Claus right now."

"Okay," Beckett said slowly.

"Or not," Castle said quickly in response to her tone. He smiled then as Julia giggled at their exchange and said, "We have to get up soon, you have school."

"I know, but is it almost Easter?" Julia asked.

"Not yet, we are getting closer though," Beckett replied, running her hand over Julia's hair.

Making a face, the little girl got off of Castle's lap; both he and Beckett helping her so she wouldn't fall; and she ran to the bed, climbing up on it before burrowing under the covers. She squealed when she felt Castle grabbing at her through the covers, and she wriggled her way up to peek her eyes over the comforter at him. "I'm gonna hide so I don't have to go," she said, trying to be serious but her face breaking out in a smile as she looked at her mother and Castle. "Come with me Mommy, so you don't have to go."

"I'll join you," Castle said, climbing under the covers.

Watching the two as she leaned her pillow against the headboard to sit where it had been, Beckett shook her head as she listened to Castle and Julia talking about pretending they were in a cave under the covers. She was smiling, since Julia had never done that with him; having played that same game with her daughter herself a number of times before. She looked on as they came closer to her and said, "So I need rescuing?" having heard Julia talking about him saving the queen. "And thank you for making me a queen sweetie."

"Welcome!" Julia said, her voice muffled by the covers. She pushed Castle ahead of her when he slowed down a little saying, "You need to save her, not me."

"Okay, so, I have no ropes," Castle said once he'd come out of the covers. "But she said to save you so…"

Beckett cried out slightly in surprise when Castle suddenly scooped her up in his arms, pretending to leave the bed. She made him stop before he really did get up, and leaned against him as they watched Julia bounce on her knees in front of them. "Was that fun?" she asked, cupping Julia's cheek.

"Lots, it was dark, but I wasn't scared," the little girl said proudly. "Are you gonna say thank you?"

"Oh, thanks," Beckett said, smiling when Castle murmured a you're welcome.

"Not like that," Julia said, wrinkling her nose. "Give him a kiss, I won't look," she said before covering her eyes with her hands.

"You-" Castle started to say before Beckett kissed him, cutting him off. He kissed her back quickly, since it was a short kiss, and when they parted he said, "Let me rescue you again."

"I don't think so," Beckett said before she got off his lap and went to Julia. Without a word she began to tickle her daughter, who shrieked in laughter as Castle then joined in. When she stopped, Julia was lying on the bed in between them and she asked, "Fun?'

"Yeah," her daughter said, her green eyes sparkling up at them both. She jumped up onto her feet and hugged her mother tightly around the neck before turning to Castle and doing the same. She jerked against him when an alarm went off and said, "What's that?"

"That's for us to get ready," Beckett said. "So you woke up a little early today."

"I'll watch her," Castle said when she looked at him. Once Beckett was in the bathroom he turned to Julia and said, "That was pretty fun, I haven't played cave dwellers in a long time."

"What does that mean?" Julia asked.

"Dwellers? It means to live somewhere," Castle explained. "You dwell here in the city, so you're a city dweller."

"Oh, is that a big person word?" Julia said.

"I think so, I think in Scrabble it'd be a big score," Castle said, smoothing down her hair that was sticking up from going under the covers. He kissed her forehead and said, "So you want your mom and I to kiss I noticed."

"Yeah, Celia's mommy and daddy do that," Julia said with a nod. "And they love each other like you and Mommy do."

"Very true sweetie," Beckett said, coming out from the bathroom. She went to Castle and smoothed down some of his hair that was sticking up as well and she bent over, kissing the top of his head before he looked up at her. They kissed gently and quickly before she went to her daughter, picking her up. "We'll see-" she started to say.

"Wait, Castle, will you brush my hair today?" Julia asked quickly before Beckett could walk away from the bed.

"Of course," he replied, smiling as Julia waved at him as Beckett left the room. Breathing out, he looked at the covers, rumpled from their game, and he smiled wider as he could imagine for a second they were a family then; not just because they felt it but because it was official.

* * *

" _I'm living in the material world_ ," Julia sang softly as Castle was brushing her hair. "That's a good song huh?"

"It is," he said as he had her turn her head forward again.

"Is Krishna the same Krishna Alexis told me about?" Julia asked.

"It is, you know George believed in that," Castle commented.

Nodding before she listened to the next song playing from her iPod, Julia tensed up as she realized what it was.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked, noticing.

"Can you change it?" Julia asked in a slight panic, turning to him.

"I'll change it," Beckett said, closer to the iPod since she was in the kitchen.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Castle asked Julia once an Elton John song had started playing and she visibly relaxed.

"That song Madame Claude played when we did stretching and exercises, and when we do the steps all at once," Julia said, tears in her eyes. "She would sing it in other words and it was pretty but she was sad singing it."

Going over to her, Beckett hugged Julia to her as she saw Castle was stroking her hair. "Sweetie, I know it's sad-" she started to say.

Shaking her head, Julia said, "I didn't like it, it was sad and you should be happy when you dance."

"You're right, you should," Castle said. "But we changed the song, so you don't have to listen to it."

As she went back to the kitchen Beckett said, "Do you want me to take the song off your list sweetie?"  
"No," Julia said hesitantly. "It is Paul, but I don't want to listen to it now."

"Then we won't," Castle said, leaning over her and kissing her forehead. He was pleased to see her smile at that, and continued combing her hair before putting it up in a French braid. He still didn't know why exactly, but out of him and Beckett, he had turned out to be better doing that type of braid, so Julia would go to him for it. "Okay, let's go ahead and eat so you and your mom won't be late going to school."

"Why can't you come today?" Julia asked as he helped her into her usual chair at the table.

"I can't go every day, but I'll tell you what, Friday I'll take you by myself," Castle said, looking at his fiancée.

"He can," Beckett said with a smile when Julia turned to her as she set out the plates of eggs and bacon she'd made.

"So the arms are good?" Castle asked, taking Beckett's wrist once she'd set his plate in front of him.

"What are you, Gomez Addams? I didn't even speak French," Beckett commented with a smile as he'd been kissing her wrist. But it wasn't that she wasn't enjoying it, she needed him to stop lest she enjoy it too much.

Julia giggled a little as Castle pulled her mother down to him to share a quick kiss before she sat with them. She squirmed a little in her chair before she asked, "Does Grandpapa still pick me up?"

"He will," Beckett said. "And you're going to see that movie too."

"Do I have to wear my uniform?" Julia whined, wrinkling her nose.

"Just for the movie, when you go back home you can change," Beckett told her.

"Speaking of that, am I invited tonight since I'm assuming you're going back to your place," Castle said.

"If you want to come over you're welcome," Beckett said.

"Then I'll bring dinner over," Castle said.

"If you can, you have no idea how it'll go today," Beckett pointed out.

"Mommy, Castle?" Julia whispered, making them look at her. "Are you gonna find who did it?"

"We will," Castle answered firmly. "It takes a little bit of time though, but we will find them. Your mom's pretty smart… me too."

Beckett rolled her eyes at that and then leaned over, kissing her daughter's cheek saying, "He's right though, we will find the person responsible. We do have Ryan and Esposito to help us too."

"Oh of course, we can't forget the boys," Castle said.

"Now sweetie, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Beckett said, wanting to change the subject quickly. "Did your teacher tell you about dying Easter eggs?"

Luckily with that Julia was distracted through the rest of the meal, and once the dishes were set aside she watched her mother gathering their things for Castle to take back to their home for them. "I wish you could come," she couldn't help saying to him as he set Beckett's bag of clothes next to the door.

"Me too, but I'm still promising you Friday," Castle said seriously.

"Good," Julia said happily.

"Are you ready sweetie? Have your umbrella and coat?" Beckett asked, coming down with the small bag used for Julia's things.

"Yeah," Julia said, showing her mother her umbrella she was holding.

"Okay, say bye to Castle, you'll see him tonight," Beckett was saying.

"Thank you for brushing my hair," Julia said when he quickly picked her up. "It looks pretty," she told him solemnly.

"I'm glad to hear that," Castle said, kissing her cheek before they shared a kiss. "And I'll see you later like your mom said, and I'll be bringing a surprise for dinner."

"What?" Julia asked eagerly.

"You'll see," Castle said. "Have a great day at school Julia, I love you." He hugged her before setting her down and then turned to Beckett who had been putting on her coat. "I'll grab some coffee by your place before I head into the station."

"That's fine, I won't take too long to drop her off, so I'll go in as soon as I leave," Beckett said before she wrapped her arms around him. She kissed him slowly before they pulled apart; taking a while with that as well. "See you," she whispered, smiling slightly at the expression on his face at that. She brushed her lips against his, and then took Julia's hand, stepping out into the hall.

Gazing after them, Castle nearly jumped when he turned back into his place to come face to face with his mother. "Studying to become a ninja Mother?" he asked her after closing the door.

"No, no, just thinking if you weren't staying home this would be a very odd variation on the 50s. So how was Julia last night?" Martha asked, going to the kitchen to pour herself some coffee.

"She slept with us," Castle said, smiling at the memory of playing with her. "But she was fine, no nightmares luckily. Look, I hate to run, but I need to get their stuff back to Kate's and get us coffee before I go into the station."

"Go on, I know you want to solve this case desperately; Kate as well," Martha said, standing with him as he pulled on a coat.

"I'll see you later Mother… wait, is tonight your date with that guy from the Keel Gallery?" Castle asked.

"It is, and since you're going to Kate's tonight I'll probably see you Thursday night," Martha said. "Oh, and don't forget to call Alexis tonight, she's free to talk."

"Great, thanks for telling me," Castle said as he left, buttoning his coat with one hand as he carried the two bags in the other, jogging as he'd realized his mother was right; he did want to solve their case particularly badly.

* * *

Blowing a kiss to Julia after they'd said their usual routine when she dropped her off at her classroom, Beckett walked out of the elementary school building when her phone began to ring. "Beckett," she answered, seeing it was Ryan. "Hey? You… okay, I'll be right in. No, I'll call him and let him know." Hanging up the phone, she then dialed Castle's number and when he answered asked, "Where are you?"

"Waiting for the coffees," Castle said. "Kauai's doing fine by the way."

"Thanks for checking, I already left her though," Beckett said. "But I called because we have Costa."

"Awesome, any details or you need to find out?" Castle asked.

"The latter," Beckett said. "But you need to come in."

"Together?" Castle asked.

"Together," Beckett replied. They said a quick goodbye to each other and she hurried to the curb, flagging down a cab before she jumped in and gave the Precinct's address. She looked at her phone during the drive, texting her dad to make sure he was picking Julia up.

At the station, she ran inside and headed up to the fourth floor calling, "Ryan," as she walked to her desk, trying to unbutton her coat at the same time.

"We got a call from a homeless shelter in the area we had to search, Javi left messages at them all last night before he left," Ryan said, walking over from the break room with a mug of coffee. "And he went into one this morning for breakfast. He was a regular, so the owner recognized him and remembered the name from the message."

"Did he put up a fight when uniforms brought him in?" Beckett asked, remembering the assault on his daughter the man had committed.

"Sort of," Ryan said slowly.

"Hey, where is he?" Castle asked, getting off the elevator then.

"In holding," Ryan replied.

Beckett didn't wait to hear the reason why he was hesitating as he spoke, instead headed straight for the cells. She knew that Castle was behind her again, and when she got close to the man she motioned to him with her hand to get him to hang back a little. "Mr. Costa?" she said as the man was sitting on the bench, his head hanging down. There was no answer and she turned to where Ryan was standing at the threshold to holding.

"He's deaf and mute," Ryan said.

"He's… okay," Beckett said, a little surprised by that. "So he struggled against the officers because he couldn't hear them."

"Yeah, but only a little," Ryan said. "And I called in someone who knows ASL because I tried a few words I know and he responded."

"When are they coming?" Beckett asked.

"Hopefully soon, poor guy's got to wonder what's going on," Castle said.

Beckett didn't reply to that, but instead turned and left saying, "Castle's right, he's not our killer."

"No? Because even a guy like that could manage to kill someone," Esposito said, having arrived then.

"Let's wait and see what he says," Beckett said simply. "Until then, the Post Offices?"

"Getting some security footage from the days the postcards were marked," Ryan answered. "And now we know what he looks like it'll be easier."

"What about the assault?" Castle suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked.

"Is there evidence of him hitting someone?" Castle asked.

"Ah… I don't know," Ryan admitted. "I didn't think about that when he came in, but Amy Holsten identified him."

"I know, just, seeing Costa in person and then seeing Holsten yesterday in the hospital doesn't make sense," Castle said.

"We'll figure that out once we talk to him," Beckett said absently, looking at some paperwork on her desk. "Okay, so for now, Ryan, did he have any items on him when he was brought in?"

"A pack," he said.

"You guys take a look through it, and send any items of clothing to CSU for testing for gunshot residue," Beckett said. "Remember our killer also shot Martine." When the two had left she turned to Castle and said, "Her teacher asked me about the case."

"Well, that would make sense," he replied, knowing there was more to it than that.

"Apparently the girls in the classes that have the same recess as Julia; and who are in her class; are bothering her still, asking about Madame Claude," Beckett finished. "And Julia's been handling them very well."

"She takes after her mother then," Castle said. "Anything yet on that gun?"

"That's what I was looking at," Beckett said. "They managed to raise part of the number off it, but with only three it's going to be pretty much impossible to determine where it was bought from. If it was even bought legally of course."

"Detective Beckett?" a young woman said, walking up to them. "I'm Dakota Hoff, the sign language interpreter."

"LT," Beckett said, shaking the woman's hand. "Can you get Costa into room one for me? Ms. Hoff, I'd like you to sit at the table with us in there, but to the side if you're still able to sign to him."

"I should be able to," Hoff said with a nod, following them to the room.

Waiting at the table for Costa to be brought in, Castle watched the man shuffle his way inside. He glanced at Beckett, wondering if Esposito had seen the way the man walked on the footage. He then wondered how the interview would go, as they'd never had to question someone using sign language.

"Mr. Costa, I'm Detective Beckett," she began once he was seated and LT had left the room. She glanced at Hoff who was signing her words, and she then looked back at their suspect, being careful to go slightly slower. "And this is Mr. Castle; we've brought you in to ask you a few questions."

"About my wife?" Hoff said for Costa.

"Yes," Beckett said as she nodded at the same time. "Are you aware that she was killed?"

"I am, and that she was pregnant too," Costa signed.

"How did you feel about that?" Castle asked.

"I was happy for her, but I went to see her because I wanted to see my daughters. To see if she let me know where they are; now she's having another child," Costa signed.

"When did you see her?" Beckett said.

"I tried to go to her building a few times, but she wouldn't speak to me, I don't think she recognized who I was," Costa signed.

"What about three nights ago? Did you go up to her apartment?" Beckett asked.

"I was in Harlem that night, they were having an Easter dinner at a church," Costa signed. "And I slept at the homeless shelter down the street; I didn't leave until the next morning, later in the morning."

"When did you and your wife get a divorce?" Castle then asked, knowing then their case had just gone back to square one as he could tell from the man's demeanor he was telling the truth.

"After she had our second daughter, but it was a mutual agreement when she wouldn't let me see Amber," Costa signed.

"You've never seen your daughters?" Beckett asked, knowing where Castle was going with that question.

"My first daughter for a few years, but…" Costa signed before stopping. "I wanted to go to see them, or at least see them once from far away, but, I wouldn't want to scare them. You've seen them, are they doing okay?"

Beckett knew then too that he was not their guy for the assault, and she had to wonder who it was that beat up Amy Holsten. "They're fine," she then said. "So you didn't hear about what happened to your oldest daughter?"

"No, I was in a homeless shelter around Claude's building until later last night," Costa signed.

"What about yesterday morning, between five and seven?" Castle asked.

"Central Park, I like to sit by the fountain in the day, watch the families with their children because I never had the chance," Costa signed, looking a little embarrassed.

"Okay, we need to hold you until we check your alibis," Beckett said as she and Castle stood.

"My daughters, is there any way I could get in touch with them?" Costa signed.

Castle looked at Beckett, who nodded to him, and he said, "We can ask them if they'd like to speak with you, but I don't know if we can promise anything."

"So he's not our guy," Esposito said as he came out of observation when Beckett and Castle had left the interrogation room.

"Definitely not," Castle said. "He does not look like someone who could wrestle with a woman that smaller than he is. Was he walking like that in the footage?"

"Yeah, I was hoping he was faking it, but I was wrong," Esposito said.

"You know what bothers me," Beckett said.

"The assault?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said, "We should find Amy Holsten and ask why she thought the guy who attacked her was her father. Though now it's looking like it's someone who knew the vic and the inheritance she had."

"Espo, what about the dealer who gave them the succinylcholine?" Beckett asked as they'd been trying to find him.

"Gone, we tried around the area where Longueville said he was, and the other dealers uniforms managed to talk with said he set off for Miami… or Canada, they were kind of vague on that," Esposito replied.

"Of course," Beckett said. "And security camera footage?"

"No cameras, which is why he was dealing there," Esposito said simply.

"Anything with Costa's pack?" Castle asked.

"Still looking through it, but I wanted to check him out," Esposito said. "Oh, and we found a picture," he said, holding up an evidence bag with a photograph in it.

"That'll be our vic and Amy Holsten," Beckett said with a nod at the two women as very young children. "Actually, can you leave the rest of the pack to Ryan, and check into Costa's alibis? Did you hear them?"

"Yeah, I'll let you know what I find out," Esposito said.

"And us?" Castle asked as they'd been watching Costa being led to holding.

"Hold on," Beckett said as the interpreter was walking behind their suspect. "Ms. Hoff," she called, walking over to her. "You were behind us leaving the room."

"Actually, he made a noise, so I spoke with him, the officer was there so I spoke for us both," Hoff said quickly.

"About what?" Castle asked.

"He was asking about his daughters," Hoff said.

"Did he ask about our case?" Beckett said.

"No, he was begging me to contact them," Hoff said. "Will you be needing me?"

"That's alright, thank you for your help," Beckett said. Once the woman had gone she turned to Castle and said, "So I think we're back at square one, barring Esposito disproving Costa's alibis."

"Yeah, I was getting that as soon as he walked into the room," Castle said. "So, what's our next move?"

"Find Amy Holsten and bring her in," Beckett said simply before she went back to her desk.

"I'll leave that to you," Castle said. "And get some coffee."

Nodding as she was already dialing on her phone, Beckett wasn't too surprised when it went straight to the young woman's voicemail. She tried Holsten's apartment number, and when it went to an answering machine she called the hospital. Learning from there that Holsten had checked out earlier that morning, she asked, "Was anyone there to pick her up?"

"There was a young woman," the nurse at the other end answered.

Beckett quickly gave Amber Holsten's description, but the nurse hadn't seen her, instead having seen a woman with black, long hair, and grey eyes. "Alright, thank you," she said, hanging up.

"You can't find her?" Castle asked in slight surprise as he walked back to her, handing her her blue mug.

"No, she was checked out this morning, but her phone's going to voicemail, and her apartment phone is going to the answering machine," Beckett said.

"Wait, didn't she say something was happening tonight?" Castle said as he suddenly remembered and could tell Beckett had too.

"Dress rehearsal," they said at the exact same time before they got their coats and ran for the elevators as Beckett grabbed something from the murder board on the way.


	9. Tell You To Beware

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Beware My Love by Paul McCartney, from the Wings album Wings at the Speed of Sound.

The stage was dark, except for a solitary spotlight on the dancer, spinning before doing a pirouette and landing _en pointe_ as a male dancer joined her in the light.

"I don't see Julia doing that."

"I know. Excuse me, I am Detective Beckett with the NYPD, I need to ask that you stop this dress rehearsal."

"Excuse me," a man said, standing up in the front row. "We're running tonight and-"

"Are you the director?" Beckett asked when she and Castle were closer to the man. When he nodded she showed him her badge as the theater lights came back on and said, "And I'm investigating a homicide. I need to speak with your lead dancer."

"Amy?" the director asked.

"What is it?" Amy said, going to the edge of the stage.

"Is there somewhere we can talk to you in private?" Beckett asked.

"Sure, I'm sorry Joey," Amy said to the director. "They're investigating my mother's… my mother."

"Oh, why didn't you say in the first place," the director said, instantly becoming solicitous. "Take them to your dressing room Amy."

"This way please," the dancer said, motioning backstage. When Castle and Beckett were following her she went back to a small room where there was a small couch across from the vanity. "Sit, please. Did you find my father?" she asked as she closed the door.

"We did," Beckett said simply.

"Oh, thank goodness," Amy said, touching her cheek. "Did he confess to killing my mother?"

"There's a funny thing about that," Castle said. "Well, it's not so much funny as a little strange. He can't speak."

"Can't speak? What are you talking about? I told you he called me-" Amy said.

"Do you recognize this man?" Beckett said, holding out the picture of Costa that had been taken at the Precinct for identification purposes.

"This is… no, I don't, who is it?" Amy asked.

"Your father," Beckett then said simply.

"That's not him," Amy said. "I don't know what he told you, but that's not him."

"Oh no, that's Philippe Costa, however, he's deaf and mute. And he's not your mother's killer," Castle said.

"He's not?" Amy asked in shock.

"His alibis for your mother's murder, the murder of Lorenzo Martine and your attack all checked out," Beckett replied; since Esposito had called them before they'd gone into the theater with that information. "So who was it that was getting money from you?"

"I don't know, he said he was my father, that he knew things…" Amy said. "I can describe him, if you want me to."

"Then you'll need to come with us down to the station," Beckett said, standing up. "They'll have to continue the rehearsal without you."

* * *

"So we talked to Longueville," Ryan said as he was with Beckett and Castle at her desk. "And she didn't know about the inheritance, neither did the other friends of course. I contacted Amber Holsten, but she couldn't think of any past exes or friends that would have known about it to threaten her sister."

"We need to ask her something that's been bothering me," Castle said, looking at Beckett. "Where it was this guy contacted her the first time."

"You make a good point, hopefully somewhere with security cameras," Beckett said as she saw Esposito coming out of the conference room with the sketch artist's notepad. "That's him?" she asked.

"That's him, he's about forty to fifty, five nine to six feet and his hair is black. She says she's only had a picture of him from about twenty-five years ago, so she took this guy at his word that he was her father since he looked similar to him," Esposito replied as Beckett took the sketch.

Handing it off to Ryan, she went over to the room and said, "Ms. Holsten, I'm wondering where was it this man first contacted you before he started the mail drops for cash?"

"In my apartment, oh, they have security cameras in the halls; after a fire was set about ten years ago; and he should be there. It was… on a Friday, I remember because I had finished a class that day and was about to go out to a bar; my usual routine that day," Amy replied as she put on her coat.

"Thank you for your time, I'd ask you not to leave the city until we find who the killer is," Beckett said.

"Am I a suspect?" Amy asked, looking slightly taken aback.

"No, but the killer might be after you and your sister, you never know," Castle said, standing behind Beckett.

"Of course, I have the show tonight, so, I won't be going anywhere," Amy said, smiling briefly before she left with the officer Beckett had assigned to escort her back to the theater.

Watching the young woman go, Beckett wasn't too surprised she didn't feel much sympathy for her, and she quickly turned to the boys who were at the board but were watching the dancer leave. "Guys," she said to them. "I need you to get on the phone to her building, and get security footage from the twenty eighth of last month outside her apartment."

"Think he'd really make that bad of a mistake?" Castle asked.

"There's a part of me that's really hoping he did," Beckett said. "I need to go home to her to tell her it's over."

"Yeah," Castle said, knowing what she meant. "But it doesn't feel right, does it?" he asked as they went to the break room.

"Not entirely. I'm thinking about bringing in the friends of Martine, to look at the sketch and see if we can get an ID," Beckett mused as she leaned against the counter next to Castle. "But it's…"

"Not coming together," he finished for her. "I agree, but maybe he's a not fully intelligent murderous psychopath."

"To murder a baby, I'll agree with that description," Beckett said. "Though, why would he bother with the baby?"

"To throw us off the trail of the money I would hazard a guess," Castle said, handing her a cup of espresso. "But, if I'm writing the story and this guy's a psychopath, then the money and the pregnancy came together in his motive."

"Beckett," Esposito said, coming to the doorway. "We've got the security footage."

"Great, I want you to get Costa released and Ryan," Beckett called to the detective as she left the room. "Go ahead and look through the Post Office footage again now we have a different suspect."

"You want to take the footage from the building," Caste said as they went into the room while Esposito went to his desk.

"I'd like to check for myself," Beckett said, going back to the doorway as an aide was coming over to them. "Thank you Leticia. So we have a sketch," she said, holding up the copy she'd been handed. "Let's take a look at Amy Holsten's Friday."

Sitting with her, Castle looked on as she fast forwarded until a person came into view. He looked carefully at everyone, but no one was stopping at the apartment door in the middle of the screen; Amy's; and none of them looked like the sketch. "Luckily it's only one day," he commented as they finally reached the afternoon a little while later; having stopped to watch a woman speak with Amy who'd stood in her doorway before going into the apartment across the hall.

"How do you know her memory was correct?" Beckett asked, looking up at the screen.

"Why do you have to be so pessimistic about this?" Castle groaned slightly. He glanced at the TV and then straightened up in his chair at the same time she did. Looking at the sketch and then the screen he said, "That's him."

"That is," Beckett replied, pausing and zooming in on the man's face. The large beard matched the one in the sketch that Amy had described and so did the arch of his eyebrows which were easily seen. Playing the footage again, they watched as the man walked into the apartment after Amy had opened the door and then stepped back in.

"He waited until he was inside to threaten her," Castle said as Beckett was writing down the time the man had gone inside. "See how easily he got in?"

"I saw," she said simply as she played the footage again. She fast forwarded it until the man left, and paused as he walked out. "He was only in there for fifteen minutes," she said as she looked at the two times.

"She must have acquiesced in a hurry," Castle said as on the screen Beckett played the footage out and they could see the man getting on an elevator.

"Guys," Esposito said, at the door then.

"Costa's out?" Beckett asked, getting her phone out of her pocket.

"Not really, it's Costa, he's downstairs in the lobby, refusing to leave until he can speak with you," Esposito said. "Here," he said as he held out a notepad and paper to them.

"Actually, I need you to take care of him," Beckett replied, dialing out the building's number but not hitting the call icon. "If he asks about his daughters, just tell him we'll get in touch with him as soon as the case is finished and he needs to leave a way for us to contact him." Once Esposito had left with a nod at her instruction, she finally made the call as they watched their suspect go to the elevator for a second time.

Castle paused and tried to zoom in on the numbers at the top of the screen to see where the man had gone to, but a number of floors; Amy being on the twelfth of a twenty story building; lit up and he knew there was no way to tell where he'd stopped that way. He watched Beckett then, hoping the building had footage of the man getting off the elevator at some other floor.

"Thank you, goodbye," she was saying before she hung up. "Okay, they're looking at the sketch now, and will have someone look at the other footage from the others floors to figure out where he went."

"So we wait?" Castle asked.

"We do, but I want to check in with Ryan and we should go over the case," Beckett said. "One more time to make sure we're not missing anything."

"After you," Castle said as she stood and he followed her out, glancing back at the elevator doors that were on the TV screen.

* * *

"Finished up with the footage from the Post Offices," Ryan said, walking up to Castle and Beckett who were at the murder board. "But never saw the guy at all, not even in a disguise or anything."

"He probably did," Castle commented. "It was just good enough to fool you into not seeing him."

"Did the warrant come in for Holsten's financial records?" Beckett asked, turning then to look at him.

"No, not enough to issue it," Ryan said apologetically. "I tried to explain Castle's theory but they told me I was out of my mind and the judge would never sign for that."

"Told you," Beckett said with a sigh. "Alright, so we've looked at the money, we've looked at the baby; babies; and we've got possible motive or motives. But nothing that's coming together enough to build a case a jury would believe. If we even had a suspect of course. But something I thought was what about a simple stalker?"

"Stalker?" Castle asked in surprise.

"I know, not as exciting as what you've come up with, but it might explain why Martine was killed as well," Beckett said.

"That's not a bad idea," Esposito said. "There's a report that the vic, the first vic, filed about seven years ago. We didn't find it because someone put it under the name Costa when it occurred," he said, handing a copy of it to Beckett.

"She accused a Patricia McInnes of sexual harassment," she said as she was reading. "And the woman was eventually charged with stalking, but everything was thrown out because she was deemed insane. We…" Beckett started to say before trailing off. "This is her?"

"Yeah, have you seen her?" Esposito said as she showed the picture to Castle.

"Definitely," he replied as Beckett strode back to the TV. They watched as she pulled up the security footage of the hallway they'd been watching earlier, and paused on the woman they'd seen talking to Amy Holsten.

"That's her," Esposito said as Beckett zoomed into the woman's face and it was a match to the picture of the woman.

"Let's go," Beckett said shortly as she turned off the TV and they hurried out to grab their coats on the way to the elevator.

* * *

"Detective Beckett?" a man in a suit and red tie asked as she and the others walked inside the lobby of Amy Holsten's building.

"Yes, were you able to find out who the man was?" Beckett asked.

"We think he might be Ralph Joyce, in 19L, but he's clean shaven," the man replied.

"Do you know this woman?" Ryan asked, handing him the picture of Patricia McInnes he was holding.

"Oh yes, she's the woman living across the hall from the apartment you were looking into," the man said. "Ms. McInnes."

"Alright," Beckett said, turning to Ryan and Esposito. "I want you two to get McInnes, Castle and I will get Joyce."

"Sure you want to head up with no backup?" Esposito asked.

"These two might be working together for all we know," Beckett said simply. "I want them at the station as soon as possible."

"Want to give me your backup at all?" Castle asked when they were in the elevator.

"I don't think it's necessary," Beckett replied simply. They stopped at the floor where Amy Holsten's apartment was, and Ryan and Esposito walked off. She looked up at the numbers and said, "We're just bringing him in."

"Doesn't mean he wouldn't get violent," Castle said before they stopped at the nineteenth floor. He followed her around the corner and then said, "You don't think it's weird he's clean shaven?"

"A disguise," Beckett said, but without much conviction as she had to admit he was right, it was strange. They reached the door and she knocked on it calling, "Mr. Joyce?"

"Yeah, can I help you?" a middle aged man said, opening the door a moment later. His eyes widened at seeing Beckett's badge and asked, "What's wrong?"

"We're investigating a homicide," she replied. "And we'd like to ask you some questions; at our Precinct."

* * *

"Mr. Joyce," Beckett said as she walked into interrogation a short time later. "I see you have some arrests on your record, mostly domestic abuse."

"Yeah, you said someone was murdered though," Joyce said as she sat across from him. "And those arrests were when I was much younger."

"True, but that doesn't mean you've stopped," Beckett said simply, going through her folder. "Do you know this woman?"

"No," Joyce said very slowly. "She looks a little familiar though…"

"What about her?" Beckett asked, showing him a picture of Amy Holsten.

"Oh, yeah, Amy, she's a few floors down from me," Joyce said with a nod. "Is she okay?"

Beckett paused, slightly taken aback by the sincere concern in the man's voice. She recovered quickly though and said, "The woman in the first picture is her mother, she's our victim."

"That's horrible," Joyce said. "But… you don't think I killed her do you?"

"Have you ever heard of a drug called succinylcholine?" Beckett replied with a question.

"Uh… not really, listen, I didn't kill this woman, I had no idea who she was," Joyce said. "Amy never really talked about her when we were together." He turned his head and said derisively, "The short time we were together."

"You had a relationship with her?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, it was… pretty much friends with benefits, we met in the laundry room and it went from there," Joyce said. "She noticed that my clothes were covered with paint and talked about she had always wanted to be a painter herself but her mother had never let her, made her dance instead."

"When did you stop seeing each other?" Beckett asked.

"Three weeks ago," Joyce replied.

"Is this you?" Beckett said as she handed him a screenshot of the security camera footage.

"Yeah, it is, that was really bizarre, she wanted me to dress like a homeless guy," Joyce said. "I thought she was a little off, but thought whatever she was… it was worth it," he hesitated before finishing. "But as soon as I got into the apartment she made me take everything off until I was leaving and had to put everything back on. And then as I was going to the door she suddenly ended everything. I tried to talk to her, but she just threw me out of her place and I haven't seen her since."

"Where were you between twelve and two three nights ago?" Beckett asked, seeing their chance slipping away; hoping Esposito and Ryan were having more luck with McInnes.

"Home, painting, there are security cameras on my floor too," Joyce said.

Beckett asked about the next two times, but barely listened to the man give the same alibis. "Alright, I'll need to keep you here until we can check those out. By the way," she said. "Do you know who these men are?" showing him pictures of Costa and Martine.

"No," Joyce said after studying the photographs closely.

Standing, Beckett left the room with Castle coming out of observation behind her saying, "Espo and Ryan are still in there, we need to check on his alibi ourselves."

"And take another look at the case?" Castle asked, though he didn't sound too sure of himself. When his fiancée stopped and looked at him he said, "I have an idea."

"A theory? Please share with the class Mr. Castle," Beckett replied.

Shaking his head, Castle replied with, "It needs some fine tuning."

"Evidence," Beckett said simply. When he nodded once she turned back to her desk and sat down, calling the building where Joyce, McInnes and Amy lived.

* * *

"So McInnes is a dead end," Esposito said as he and Ryan walked over to Castle and Beckett from their desks.

"Her alibis checked out?" Castle asked, turning from the murder board.

"Oh, you could say that," Ryan said. "She was with her lovers, every single time we have for the murders and assault."

"Was she Holsten's lover?" Beckett then asked.

"Until about three weeks ago," Esposito answered. "Don't ask why she went after the mother and then slept with the daughter, she just said she wanted to."

"The same as Joyce," Castle said. "Not in the least suspicious," he said sarcastically.

"Not all," Beckett replied, though she was looking at the board unseeingly. "Alright," she shook herself. "Let them go Esposito, we confirmed the three alibis from Joyce."

"Anything from looking over this for a second time?" Ryan asked once their partner had left.

"Oh, nothing much, but we decided we're both thinking towards the same direction," Beckett replied.

"We're heading to Amy Holsten's, we need to speak with her," Castle said. "For a second time today."

"Which I'm overjoyed about," Beckett said, looking at their timeline again.

"Do you want us with you?" Ryan asked.

"Yes," Beckett said, seeing Esposito was already returning.

"Thanks for filling out most of the paperwork, did we have to keep talking to her though?" the detective asked when he was close.

"I'm afraid so, but we'd gotten the footage of the hallway the other two time periods while we were getting them in Joyce's hallway," Beckett said, going to her desk and switching to her coat. "We're heading to Amy Holsten's, all this is looking very badly for her."

The four traveled separately to the building yet again once they were out of the Precinct. In the lobby, Beckett directed Esposito and Ryan to speak to the concierge the building had, to see if there was a sign-in sheet for guests, wanting to get a look at past guests to Amy's apartment before they resorted to the security footage of her hallway once more.

"We're not bringing her down to the station?" Castle asked on the elevator up.

"It wouldn't work," Beckett said. "I want to lull her into a sense of security before I start tearing her story apart."

"Great," Castle said. When she looked at him at his enthusiasm, he quickly said, "I love seeing you on the attack."

Not replying to that, Beckett headed out into the hall as they'd reached the twelfth floor. When they neared 12R, she saw that the door was opened slightly, and she reached under her coat, keeping her hand near her gun. She looked back at Castle and saw that he'd pressed against the wall as she'd done. Nodding to him, she turned and got closer to the door, pushing it in before pulling out her weapon. Aiming it in front of her, she stepped inside, hearing a distant creak of the hardwood floor ahead of her. Going to the side of the doorway to the bedroom, she looked in and saw it was empty. Hoping that it was a false alarm, she stepped inside fully and put her finger on the trigger, seeing Amy being held by a man, a knife pressed against her throat as she struggled against her attacker.


	10. What I Have Seen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Tired of Midnight Blue by George Harrison, from his album Extra Texture (Read All About It).

"Put down the knife," Beckett said, aiming at the man's head.

"Why should I?" the man hissed to her. "Shut up!" he bellowed to Amy, who was whimpering in fear.

"Let her go and we can talk," Beckett told him, trying to speak as calmly as she could though her voice was tense with the situation.

"Hey Beckett!" Esposito suddenly yelled outside the apartment.

Jumping at the sound, the man drew his knife across Amy's throat before he ran to Beckett, her shot grazing his temple. He slashed at her, but Beckett was able to duck out of the way.

Trying to catch the man as he ran to the doorway where he was standing just behind it, Castle felt the sudden sharp pain of the knife slicing through his clothing and into his arm before the attacker took off for the door. There was a sudden shot, and the man crumpled to the middle of the floor as he grabbed his arm to stop the bleeding as it spilled over onto his coat sleeve.

"Call an ambulance," Beckett said as Ryan and Esposito ran inside with their guns drawn. "Castle-" she started to ask.

"I'm fine, take care of her," he said abruptly, looking down at the attacker who was motionless on the floor.

Holstering her gun, Beckett went to Amy Holsten, kneeling next to where she was laying on the floor. She couldn't see the wound as the woman had her hand pressed over it, and she got up to get a towel to help put pressure on her cut when she suddenly sat up. "Wait, you should-" she said when Amy took her hand off her throat.

"He just barely cut," she explained as the wound had already stopped bleeding. "But I need to sit."

Motioning to the bed, Beckett gestured to Ryan who came into the room before she ran into the bathroom, grabbing two towels off a stack. Going out into the main room, she tossed one towel to Esposito who was next to the attacker, and she finally allowed herself to go to her fiancé. "Is it deep?" she asked, helping him to use the large towel to put pressure on his arm.

"It's, ugh, it's deeper than hers was," Castle said, grunting as she pushed hard on the towel. "But I'm okay. Him I can't say for sure, do we know who he is?"

"Wallet," Esposito said, tossing the black case to Beckett with one hand as the other was pressurizing the gunshot wound. "Clean through," he told her as she was pulling out an ID.

"Neil Skipton," Beckett read off the driver's license. "We'll need to get more from him later, is he unconcious?"

"Out cold, he must have hit the floor after you shot him," Esposito said when he could suddenly hear stretchers coming down the hall. "Bro, how'd you do that?" he called to Ryan.

"Dialed 911 as we were walking up to the door," he called back.

"How is she Ryan?" Beckett asked, knowing she had to get their attention back to the case.

"Fine, bleeding's stopped," he answered.

"Take him first," Beckett instructed the first EMT that walked through the door. "He's the most seriously injured." She glanced down at Castle's arm and said, "I don't think you'll need to go to the hospital."

"No, but I am going to need a new shirt," he said in frustration. "My favorite one too," he said to Beckett as another EMT came over to him and made him sit, his arm above his head as he checked on the wound.

Rolling her eyes slightly, though she was feeling relieved the injury wasn't serious; Beckett went into the bedroom where a third EMT was looking at Amy's cut. "She'll be okay?" she asked the woman.

"Just fine, a flesh wound," the EMT responded. "We'll get this patched up, so you don't need to go to the hospital."

"Thank you, I'd like to just relax," Amy said.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to speak with you first before you can do that," Beckett said. "You're finished with dress rehearsal already?"

"At Joey; the director's; insistence, he thinks I'm too emotionally fragile to dance tonight. But I'm alright, luckily this can be covered up," Amy replied, sounding annoyed. "I will be able to dance right?"

"Without any problems," the EMT responded. "Please stop talking so I can clean off the blood."

Waiting until the paramedic was leaving the room, Beckett nodded to Ryan and said, "Check on Castle."

"Right," he said, looking a little surprised at that.

"So I think we need to have a discussion about who this man is Amy, because the man you told us was your father turns out to be your former lover," Beckett said.

"I know, Neil forced me to do all of this," Amy said quickly. "He wanted to get the money in my mother's account."

"And what's his relationship to you and your mother?" Beckett asked.

"He's my boyfriend," Amy said, biting the inside of her mouth visibly.

"Still?" a voice said at the doorway. Castle nodded slightly to Beckett when she looked at him and then said, "He's demanding money from you and kills your mother and you're still with him."

"I love him, and you don't know that he did kill her," Amy protested. "All he wanted was to-"

"You know already that he killed her," Beckett cut her off abruptly. "Why would you be helping him trying to frame other people if you didn't?"

"I was forced to," Amy reiterated, seeming to go limp. "He wanted the money to leave here, to go away to the South Pacific with me. I was going to get him the money, but then I found out Amber and I couldn't touch it until she died; it's in her will."

"Did you tell him that?" Castle asked.

"I had to," Amy said miserably. "He threatened to hurt my little sister, and I couldn't let that happen, so I went along with it."

"We could have offered her protection," Beckett said simply. "Do you know where he got the drug?"

"What drug?" Amy asked.

"Your mother was killed with a drug that's hard to purchase, unless it's black market," Castle replied.

"He… he has a friend who knows a dealer, a Franco Moritz, and a while back, I don't remember the day it was, they went to another dealer together. I thought they were scoring some pot; he had some when he came back," Amy said.

"Did you see them go?" Beckett asked.

"No, they left from Neil's place," Amy said. "So that's all I can tell you about that."

"What about Martine? He was actually the one buying the drug with Skipton," Castle asked.

"I don't know, it could have been Martine was this Moritz guy and it was a false name," Amy said with a groan as she moved and her skin stretched a little around the wound.

"Okay, but what would Skipton have against the babies?" Beckett asked. When Amy looked at her blankly she said, "Your mother was injected in the stomach."

"Repeatedly," Castle added.

"I don't know, he's crazy," Amy said. She took a deep breath and said to Beckett, "I know that sounds bad, but I can't stop what I feel, could you? If you knew you were with someone who was so apparently wrong for you?"

"When did you know he killed your mother?" Beckett asked, not bothering to answer her question.

"After you talked to me and Amber," Amy said. "He told me he'd done it but I couldn't tell you, he threatened to kill Amber again if I did."

"The assault?" Castle then asked.

"It was Neil, he wanted something to throw you off of him, so he came up with my dad, then used his extra scapegoats Joyce and McInnes," Amy said.

"Did he force you to take them as lovers?" Beckett asked. When she got a nod she sighed and said, "And you did that without any protest?" When the young woman just looked at her she said, "Alright, you loved him and I'm assuming he demanded it." She then called to Ryan asking him, "How is he?"

"Unconcious still as they were taking him out, they said they'd get a doctor to call once he comes to," the detective answered from the doorway.

"Any officers?" Beckett asked, since they couldn't see much from the doorway.

"Adams," Ryan answered.

"Okay, I'd like to put Ms. Holsten on protective detail, have Adams take the first shift for now," Beckett told him. Once the officer was standing at the doorway she turned to Amy and said, "It's an intrusion on your privacy, but for the moment I'd like to make sure no one who might know about the inheritance as well as Skipton comes for you."

"Thanks, will I be able to dance later?" Amy asked.

"Just make sure Officer Adams knows where he's escorting you," Beckett said. She went to the door, Castle following her, and whispered a few words to the officer before she and Castle went out into the main room. "Can you two secure things here?" she asked Esposito and Ryan.

"Definitely," Esposito answered. "If we get anything we'll let you know."

"Okay, I just need to ask her one more thing before I go," Beckett said, going back to the doorway. "Ms. Holsten?" she asked, getting the young woman's attention. "I'm wondering why Skipton wanted to murder Lorenzo Martine."

"He was… my ex boyfriend, my last boyfriend before I started dating Neil," Amy whispered, hanging her head. "I couldn't tell you that… I thought you'd suspect me and I needed to be around to make sure I could protect Amber just in case!"

"Did you two break up?" Castle asked, having gone with Beckett back to the door and hearing that.

"We did," Amy said with a slight sigh. "And after he went back to my mother. I know it sounds weird, but he never set out to leave me for her, it just happened."

"Okay, thank you for answering your questions, we'll let you know how your boyfriend is doing," Beckett said to assure her. She left after a few more words with Ryan, and then she and Castle left, going to the lobby. Before she could leave the building, he was grabbing her hand, pulling her into the stairwell, underneath the stairs and out of sight of the security cameras. "You are okay right?" she asked, a little taken aback when he hugged her tightly for a moment.

"I had a really horrible image of that knife not missing you," Castle said. "You've been trained pretty well."

"That was me not wanting to go to the hospital," Beckett said. "And not wanting Julia to find that out either. But you're okay?" she asked as she touched his arm.

"The best I can be getting sliced, it was a little deeper so it bled more, but I'll be fine," Castle said, knowing she wanted to find out what the EMT had told him. "Not even any stitches."

Beckett didn't reply to that, instead she narrowed the space between them, brushing her lips to his before she pulled back, looking into his eyes.

"You had an image of the knife doing a lot worse damage didn't you?" Castle asked her.

"I did," Beckett conceded since he'd guessed already. "But we need to go and look into this guy."

"Right, who knows, we might find the last evidence we need and can wrap this case up completely," Castle said before he followed her back into the lobby.

* * *

"So we have motives for the two killings," Beckett was saying as she and Castle were in the back conference room finishing up their lunch they'd ordered in, Ryan and Esposito joining them halfway through. "The inheritance for our first vic."

"But is there more than one for the second?" Ryan asked. "Jealousy and helping Skipton get the drug?"

"That bothers me bro, why would he take Martine with him? Which one of them knew the dealer?" Esposito said.

"That we should wait to ask Skipton himself," Beckett said, marking the murder board which they'd moved in there since she and Castle had started looking over the case again; that time with their new suspect in mind. "But when we do, we're not going to know if he's telling us the truth, and our other half of the question is dead. Can you guys go now and get more information on him, specifically any gun purchases. Though like the drug, I'm guessing it was black market."

"We'll try and dig up everything we can," Ryan said before hitting Esposito's shoulder as his partner was biting into another slice of pizza.

Watching the two leave, Beckett went to the walkie-talkie she'd brought in the room with them and contacted Officer Adams. "Where are you now officer?" she asked after he'd answered her first call.

"On the way to the theater Detective, nothing suspicious and no one following the squad car," the man said.

"Copy, I'll contact you in an hour or so, keep me posted if anything suspicious happens," Beckett said.

Watching her, Castle wanted to say something as she turned to the murder board then, but refrained, seeing that she was looking at the photograph of the fetuses that Lanie had discovered during the autopsy. "Are you sure we should have that there?" he asked, fighting his lunch rising up his throat as he turned away from the picture.

"It was a possible motive, and they're victims as much as their mother and f-" Beckett started to reply when she got a sudden phone call. "It's Lanie. What is it Lanie?" she asked as she set her phone to speaker.

"I thought you'd want to know, I got the preliminary DNA test results back from your second victim and the babies," Lanie replied.

"And?" Castle asked.

"It wasn't a match, he wasn't their father," Lanie said simply. "I ran the twins' DNA really quickly through the system, but nothing, which I was expecting, but I wanted to be thorough."

"I'm wondering," Beckett said, looking at Castle whose eyes widened as they stared at each other. When he nodded she continued saying, "If you can go to Hudson North where our current suspect is, and get some DNA from him. After I call the judge of course."

"I can, just make sure it's legal," Lanie said.

"I'll call you back," Beckett said before hanging up. "It's worth a shot."

"I'm kind of glad that Martine isn't alive," Castle commented. "You think Amy Holsten knew her mother might have been sleeping with her boyfriend though?"

"Well, the fetuses were two months," Beckett said as she walked out to her desk. "Mother and daughter could have switched boyfriends, though…"

"Martine was our vic's ex, so he dated the daughter, and then went back to the mother?" Castle asked. "This is really some hardcore Greek Oedipus territory; I bet you Alexis would have a field day with this."

"She's in child psychology Castle," Beckett said simply. "But I need to make two phone calls, to the judge and then to Amy again."

"I could take the call to Amy for you," Castle suggested.

"Better she talks to me, she knows you're not a cop," Beckett replied, picking up her phone and dialing a number. "In the meantime, see what the boys have so far."

Knowing that was more to get him to leave her to her calls, Castle nodded and went over to the murder board they'd left in the back room. He pushed it back, not minding that he needed to, since he knew Ryan and Esposito wouldn't have much on their suspect. He saw Beckett looking at him as she was talking to the judge while he positioned the board next to her. He then went over to Ryan, seeing he was looking at his screen.

"Beckett kick you out?" the detective asked, seeing Castle out of the corner of his eye.

"Just for her phone calls," he replied. "Anything?"

"Well, there's nothing in his health records that would indicate he's insane," Ryan said. "Though he did go to jail briefly for domestic abuse, he hit his ex girlfriend."

"When?" Castle asked.

"When he was nineteen he was living with a girlfriend in college, they got into a drunken fight, and he slapped her in the face," Ryan said.

"A slap? Any pictures?" Castle asked.

"This," Ryan said, watching his reaction.

"So he's abusive while drunk, but he was pretty coherent when we were at the apartment," Castle said. "There's nothing else?"

"On his record? No," Ryan said simply.

"What about financially?" Castle asked.

"That'll be where I'm looking at right now bro," Esposito said, getting their attention. "And there's nothing too out of the ordinary, I'm looking for anything from that inheritance."

"What about a series of smaller deposits in cash?" Castle asked.

"Nothing. Unless he's got an account in an assumed name, he's clean," Esposito replied.

Before anyone could say anything else, Beckett was slamming her phone down and she said, "We have the warrant for the DNA test," when she saw the others were watching her. "But Amy Holsten just said she and our suspect have been together for six weeks."

"Which gives Skipton enough time to impregnate the vic before dating Amy," Castle said, walking over to her. "Maybe when Amy found out, she demanded the baby, babies, be gotten rid of, and Skipton does it that way," he tapped the picture of the needle that had been found at the crime scene. "Was she surprised when she found out?"

"That would explain her less than shocked reaction; compared to her sister's," Beckett said. "So you might be right about the two motives combining."

"I'm just wondering though, the vic knew Skipton," Castle was saying, looking at the murder board. "So she let him in, but why? And how on earth did she not know who the babies' father was?"

"She must have slept with them really close together," Beckett said, making a slight face at the thought. "You know determining the date of conception isn't an exact science."

"But you can get close," Castle said. "Think Amber Holsten would know when her mother started seeing Martine again?"

Nodding, Beckett picked up the phone, not dreading talking to that sister as much as she had calling Amy. She spoke very briefly to the young woman; who was apparently at her daughter's school; and she hung up saying to Castle, "She started seeing him again two months ago, around the same time she broke up with Skipton."

"So we have confirmation on that," Castle said.

"The mother and daughter were swapping boyfriends?" Esposito asked as he walked over to them.

"Apparently, but I don't get the feeling that it was done intentionally," Beckett said. "And the great part is, the mother was against her daughter being gay. Her younger daughter," she clarified for Esposito. "But I think I'm a little biased towards the younger Holsten sister. What do you have?"

"Talked to a friend of Skipton's just now," Esposito replied. "And he mentioned that Skipton seemed to be pretty upset when our first vic broke up with him."

"Another motive," Castle said as he and Beckett shared a look at that. "He's angry with his ex and seeing her go back to her ex-"

"He decides to try and steal her money, but then he finds out she's pregnant somehow," Beckett said.

"So he kills her and the babies, and then kills Martine because he thinks he's the father of the children," Castle finished. "But before he kills Martine he implicates him."

"Likely to get us off his trail, but that wasn't really thought out as well," Beckett said.

"Probably because he didn't have enough time to do that," Ryan called out to them as he got up from his desk. "Called another friend, and do you know where Skipton worked up until about four months ago?"

"Was he a dancer too?" Castle asked.

"He was and with the same troupe that Amy Holsten is now with," Ryan answered.

"What happened?" Beckett asked.

"He was fired for sexual harassment against the choreographer of the play that's going to start to tonight," Ryan said, showing them a picture.

"That could be the woman who picked up Amy at the hospital," Beckett mused. "The nurse I spoke with described someone who looks a lot like her. Okay, call her Ryan and-"

"That's who I was talking to," the detective interrupted.

"Wait, he was fired for sexual harassment and she's a friend of his?" Castle asked.

"Hattie Garret assured me it wasn't harassment, they were playing around with… movements, I don't know what she was talking about," Ryan said, shaking his head. "And she tried to get the charges dropped, but the heads of the troupe went ahead with it and he was fired. She did help him get work at…"

"What?" Beckett asked, a little startled when Ryan suddenly shut up, looking uncomfortable.

"He was a custodian at your daughter's school," he finally finished.

"The elementary school?" Beckett asked, tensing up.

"No, the middle school, so you probably never saw him," Ryan replied. "He started two weeks ago."

"I haven't seen him," Beckett said with a nod, relieved. "Okay, so I think we need to do two things at this moment. Ryan, Espo, can you locate Ms. Garret and speak to her about Skipton, pose the theory that he wanted to kill our two vics out of jealousy. And also call some other friends of his, and my daughter's school too, to see if anyone's complained about him since he started working there."

"And you?" Esposito asked, watching as she changed into her coat.

"I'm going back to the first crime scene, maybe the second one if I don't really have much luck there," Beckett said.

"Aren't we sure that Skipton's our guy?" Ryan asked as Castle was grabbing his own coat.

"I want to make absolutely sure," Beckett said. "Because I don't want to make a mistake on this one," she finished with before walking back to the elevator.

"You're not worried about her?" Ryan asked Castle quickly before he could leave.

"Why would I be worried about her?" he asked in confusion.

"She's pushing on this one pretty hard," Esposito said. "Never seen her doubt herself like this."

"It's not open and shut really," Castle said as she called his name. "But guys, what do you want me to do? You can't really blame her for acting like she is; you heard how Julia was crying when she came to the station."

"Just don't let her make a mistake," Esposito said as Ryan didn't speak.

"I won't," Castle said simply before he went over to Beckett before she could walk back to where they'd been standing.

"Not sure why they think I'd make a mistake," she commented when they were in the elevator.

"I think they want to solve it for their niece too," Castle suggested.

"That could be a reason," Beckett agreed as they fell silent the rest of the way to her car.

* * *

"So did we ever locate where exactly the struggle and then murder took place?" Castle asked once he and Beckett were in their first vic's apartment.

"It started in the kitchen, there were glass shards in the sink and on the floor the killer missed in their clean up," she answered. "And there's some flecks of blood on the bed, so I think that chunk of hair torn off her head is from the killer dragging her down the hall."

Following Beckett to the bedroom in the back, Castle said, "She was pretty svelte wasn't she?"

"One hundred pounds even, I'm not sure how she carried two kids; how she was going to carry twins," Beckett answered, looking around the room. She went through the drawers; even though CSU and Ryan and Esposito had done so already; and then walked over to the nightstand on the right side. "Would you let in an ex you'd just broken up with?" she suddenly asked Castle.

"Not sure, depends on the relationship of course, but, to be honest probably not," he said. "Maybe I would talk to them from the doorway, but not invite them in. You?"

"I did the same thing right after college," Beckett said absently, looking through the books that were in bottom of the nightstand, taking them all out and putting them onto the bed.

"Photo albums?" Castle asked, going to her since he wasn't having much luck in the closet.

"They are," Beckett answered, opening them up and making sure nothing was inside them. When she got to the last one she saw a picture of the vic with her two daughters and said, "There are times I wonder why she was so against Costa being a father."

Castle opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated for a second before she urged him to speak. "Okay, this is going to sound bad, but it's a theory," he told her as he sat on the bed that had been stripped by CSU. "I've seen a show that was about a woman who married a man for the sole purpose of having a child, not with him, just to have a kid. Her grandmother actually ended up shooting him when he tried to have visits with the baby."

"And you think this could be what Madame Claude was doing?" Beckett asked.

"I would assume, and we saw in the information on Costa that he's always been mentally unstable though he's controlled it via medication," Castle said. "The question I have is why on earth would she have kids with him when she knew his condition."

"It's more than likely that she didn't know about that actually, he didn't start getting treatment until after the sisters were born," Beckett said. "But that's a pretty frightening prospect for the Holstens."

"It is," Castle said. "Are you getting anything being here?"

"Not in this room," Beckett replied. "Let's head to the studio," she told him. She was about to start putting the books away when Castle did so instead. She easily noticed him grimace for a moment and asked, "How's your arm?"

"Okay, the wound's scabbed over, so pulling on the skin like I was doing just now is not fun," he replied, standing up. He followed her to the studio and went to the phonograph, playing it while Beckett went to where the victim had been found. "Sorry," he said when she turned to look at him as the song began.

"No, I'm just thinking," she said, going to the window next to him where the fire escape was. "Did the killer escape up instead of down?"

"Think the roof has any security footage?" Castle asked.

"It could," Beckett said, turning back to the mirror. "We've never really talked about the way she was found; posed against the _barre_."

"I've been debating on that, two theories," Castle said.

"And you didn't share either one? You must be sick," Beckett teased him slightly. She sighed a little and said, "Let's hear them."

"Okay, so first is something to do with her dancing, I know that's vague, but that's because there are a lot of different theories within that theory," Castle said.

"And second?" Beckett asked.

"The killer wanted to her to look at herself, maybe because she was pregnant and the father was not Martine… though that's unlikely since I don't think anyone knew who the father was," Castle said.

"Interesting, but I'm going to go with the first one as more likely," Beckett said when her phone rang. "It's Julia, they must have stopped at my place or my dad's," she said, looking at the screen.

"Not here," Castle said, stopping her before she could answer. He took her to the entry and nodded for her to go ahead.

"Hey sweetie," Beckett said.

Castle fought a smile, still wondering if his fiancée knew how much her voice changed when she was talking to Julia from when she was working. He listened in; surprised when the little girl asked something after she explained they were at her grandfather's before going to the theater.

"Are you at work?" Julia asked.

"No sweetie, I'm somewhere else, why?" Beckett asked.

"Can we go on the screen?" Julia asked.

"Sure, have your grandpapa help you," Beckett said, tapping the screen a few times. "Hey Dad."

"Hey Katie, I'll leave you two to talk since I'll see you later," Jim said. "Castle."

Nodding to Beckett's father, Castle leaned over a little more as Julia appeared more fully on the screen and he said, "Hey sweetheart, how are you?"

"I'm good, school was okay, the teacher told the other girls and boys not to bother me," Julia answered.

"About Madame Claude?" Beckett asked with a slight smile.

"Yeah, and they didn't ask anymore, but the boys asked if you have a gun and a uniform," Julia said, wrinkling her nose.

"They haven't asked before?" Beckett said.

"Uh-uh, I don't think they believed me when I said my mommy was in the police," Julia said. "But I just said that you were solving things and you had stuff for that."

"Good answer," Castle said. "Are you excited to go to the movie?"

Smiling briefly as she knew he wanted to get the conversation off their work, Beckett said, "Are you going to change there?"

"Oh, yes Mommy, Grandpapa said I can wear something I have here for the movie so I don't have to stay in my uniform," Julia said eagerly, answering her question first. "I'm gonna wear the shirt that has the doggie on it, and my skirt from San Francisco."

"Good, I want you to bring that skirt home actually," Beckett said. "I really hope you have fun at the movie though sweetie," she said, needing to wrap up the conversation so she and Castle could get back to the case.

"When will I see you Mommy?" Julia said.

"I'm not sure, we're still working, but I promise I will try to come home as soon as I can," Beckett answered.

"Me too," Castle said.

"Kay, bye Castle, bye Mommy, see you later," Julia said, waving to the screen.

Beckett blew her daughter a kiss as her fiancé waved, and she turned off the phone. "Am I working that hard on this case?" she asked him.

"I don't think so, why?" Castle asked.

"Because I think I need to step it up a few notches, we need to wrap this up today. I can't go home to our daughter telling her we still don't know who did this," Beckett told him before she answered her phone that had started to ring. "Beckett?"

Castle looked at her when she asked, "He is? Alright, we'll be right in." "Skipton?" he inquired once she'd hung up.

"He is awake and the doctor is allowing me to question him with her there in the room," Beckett replied before she and Castle left the apartment as fast as they could without breaking into a run, knowing he was of the same mindset to solve the case as she was.


	11. If I Keep Myself Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Wah-Wah by George Harrison, from his album All Things Must Pass.

Walking down the hall at Hudson North Hospital, Castle watched as some nurses ran past him and Beckett. "Something happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," Beckett said slowly, looking at the numbers on the doors they were passing. When she came to 245, she wasn't too surprised to see the nurses inside, or the doctor she'd spoken with on the phone covering up the man on the bed.

"Time of death is three twenty nine," the doctor said, standing up straight. She then noticed Beckett and Castle in the doorway and turned to them saying, "Detective Beckett?"

"What happened?" she asked, looking over at Skipton's body underneath the sheet.

"Strange thing, he had woken up, but was only able to whisper one word, over and over before he struggled for breath, and then died," the doctor replied. "They'll have to do an autopsy to figure out what happened exactly."

"What word did he say?" Castle asked, knowing Beckett was going to be incredibly angry their best suspect had just died, taking with him the answers they needed to conclusively close the case.

" _Maison_ ," the doctor simply said before she left the room.

* * *

"So he's dead," Esposito said.

"That's what she said the first time," Castle said quickly before his fiancée could hear, sitting in front of her computer.

"Where does this put us now with the case?" Ryan asked, looking at Beckett quickly before turning to Castle.

"I'm not sure," he answered simply. He wasn't surprised when the two looked at him and he said, "Just… I'm sure there's paperwork or evidence or something." When they had gone back to their desks he sat next to Beckett and watched her for a moment seeing her expression. "I don't know if I want to ask what's going through your mind right now, because that's largely rhetorical, but if you feel like sharing-" he started to tell her.

"No, I'm just trying to get myself to write this report out but…" Beckett started to say before she trailed off.

"Yeah, it's not case closed," Castle said. "Listen, I've been thinking about what the doctor told us."

"Me too," Beckett said quickly.

"And he kept saying _maison_ , what if he was giving his alibi?" Castle asked, since he knew she didn't quite believe Skipton had been their killer.

"Ryan, Esposito," Beckett said, standing up then. "We're not finished."

"Wait, Beckett, we have testimony from Holsten that has him saying that he killed our first vic," Esposito said to that.

"And I'd like to make sure he's our killer before I condemn a dead man," Beckett said simply. "Espo, I need you to look at whatever security footage there is from wherever it is that Skipton lives, at the time of the first two murders."

"What about the assault?" Ryan asked.

"That I think was legit," Beckett said simply.

"And you might want to check out Skipton's apartment," Castle commented. "He could have something from the murders."

"I'll take CSU," Ryan said quickly; not wanting to protest with the way Beckett was looking.

"I'll be looking up some things," she was saying then. "While Castle and I look into the case from the start. As soon as you get the footage and find anything, tell us." Her phone rang, and Beckett quickly answered it when she saw it was Lanie, nodding her fiancé over. "What is it?" she said in greeting.

"First off, why are you snapping at me girl? Calm down, you have your killer," Lanie said.

"We're confirming we have our killer," Castle said quickly.

"Okay, well that explains that. And I have the results of a preliminary DNA test I did with Skipton's blood I got at the hospital," Lanie said.

"Was he conscious at all?" Beckett asked, since the doctor was going to be doing the autopsy on their suspect.

"No, he was out cold. But just to let you know, the symptoms that the man had, it sounds like an allergic reaction, a severe one," Lanie replied.

"See what you can find out if that's the case," Beckett said. "What about the test?"

"He's the father, well, it's not as accurate as the normal paternity test, but it's him or someone in his family," Lanie said.

"His family's in Louisiana," Castle said.

"Then it's likely him, thank you Lanie," Beckett said before she hung up. "Alright, let's go over this one last time, and hopefully one of them will get something."

Going over to the murder board, Castle and Beckett deconstructed every moment of the timeline, looked at the evidence they had gathered and all the previous suspects. Once they had finished, they followed Esposito to the TV, where he had a section of security footage from Skipton's building set up for them.

"I really thought you were getting obsessive Beckett, but I was wrong," the detective said as in clear view, Neil Skipton walked through the lobby of his building and went to an elevator at the time of the first vic's murder.

"Does he leave? Is there another exit?" Beckett asked, standing up from the desk she'd been leaning against.

"I called, and this is the only way in or out with a keycard; none of them were used to leave the building around the time of the murders," Esposito replied. "And then there's this," he said as he cued another clip, with the vic walking out of the building at the end of the time window for Martine's 'suicide'. "And that's the first time he's seen on the clip."

"No disguises, a big wig or Nixon mask?" Castle suggested.

"Dude," Esposito said in exasperation, looking at him.

"And that brings us directly to square one, yet again," Beckett said, with a sigh of defeat. "I'll be pulling an all nighter," she said, walking back out to her desk. "I better call Julia."

"B-" Esposito started to say.

Beckett's phone started to ring then, and she answered it, seeing it was Ryan, saying, "Anything?"

"We found some e-mails on the computer, between Skipton and Holsten, about him committing the murder of the first vic," he replied.

"He's not our killer," Beckett said. "Espo just found out he was in his apartment at the times of the murders."

"But he is the one who beat up Holsten," Ryan said. "We found a shirt with some flecks of blood on it; we're sending it in for testing."

"Did you look around for any blood in the place?" Castle said.

"Yeah, I thought of that, but-" Ryan started to say.

"Detective," someone said in the background.

"Hold on," Ryan said.

Looking at each other, Beckett, Castle and Esposito waited a little impatiently for their partner to come back on, listening to a muffled conversation on the other end.

"Okay, I'm sending you a picture," he said. "CSU has some luminol and sprayed it, we got this."

Going to the message and the picture attached, Beckett nodded saying, "That'll be the location of the attack, where are you?"

"The tub in the bathroom," Ryan said.

"Good, but you didn't find any vials that held the drug or any needles, what about bullets or a gun?" Beckett asked.

"It's clean for anything else. Do you want his computer?" Ryan asked.

"Did you dust it for fingerprints?" Esposito asked.

"It's clean," Ryan said.

"Could be the person who's setting him up, or else he was constantly wearing gloves," Castle suggested.

"Can't be that theory, the apartment's covered in his fingerprints, but that's all we were able to get from what we were sent by the hospital," Ryan said.

"Then bring the hard drive in and give it to tech, but I can tell you right now they won't find anything," Beckett said simply.

"I know, but this is all I have for you," Ryan said.

"Thank you anyways, it helps our theory," Beckett said before hanging up her phone.

"Going to call Julia?" Castle asked.

"Actually, I think I'd like to take a break for a moment, excuse me," Beckett said before she went to her desk. Grabbing something inside she went to the break room and got a bottle of water from the vending machine before she took two aspirin, sitting at the shorter table, her head in her hands for a brief moment before she sat up again, mulling their evidence over in her head.

"You know he was offering to take over that all nighter you said you wanted to do," Castle said, sitting next to her and talking in a low voice since they were alone but the doors were open.

"I can't, and don't think I'm afraid to see Julia, I just want to go home knowing it's all over," Beckett said. "But I dread having to go through all of this all over again."

"Call her," Castle said. "But tell her we'll come home in a few hours."

"Together?" Beckett asked, one eyebrow raised at that.

"Why not?" Castle replied with a shrug.

Shaking her head, Beckett pulled out her phone and dialed her dad's number saying; once he answered; "Hi Dad, no I'm still at work, I just wanted to talk to Julia. The case is still going on, so we might be a while, I need to see."

Leaning his head on his hand that was propped up on the table, Castle heard Beckett's dad and Julia talking though the sound was muffled. He glanced at Beckett when the little girl said an enthusiastic hello, and was relieved when the strain on his fiancée's face eased up immediately.

"Hi sweetie, how are you?" Beckett asked as Castle stood up suddenly. She was a little startled at that, but understood why he'd done it when an officer walked into the room.

"Good Mommy, the movie was lots of fun," Julia answered after Beckett had turned off the speaker on her phone. "The puppy was funny; it made people look at his tail while he spun it."

"That does sound funny," Beckett agreed when the officer left. "So what are you and your grandpapa doing for dinner?"

"We're gonna go to the deli and have sammiches," Julia said happily. "What about you, are you and Castle going to come?"

"I'm afraid not sweetie," Beckett said, sighing. "I might need to work a little later tonight, but he'll go over and take you home alright," she said, ignoring Castle's annoyed expression. "But I will kiss you goodnight if you're asleep once I come home okay?"

"Kay, can't I talk to Castle too?" Julia asked.

"Not now Julia, but later you can," Beckett said, looking up at him. "I'll see you later okay?"

"Kay, bye Mommy, say the same to Castle too," Julia said quickly. "And I hope you come home before I go to sleep."

"Me too, bye sweetie," Beckett said before Julia gave the phone to her grandfather. She talked briefly with her dad as Castle left the room and once she'd hung up she looked at the screen of her phone, something nagging at her as she'd been talking about him taking Julia back to her apartment. " _Maison_ ," she whispered idly, going to a search engine and putting in the word. "Home…"

Looking at the murder board, Castle frowned as he looked at the photo of the studio where their first vic had been found. He scanned it from left to right before stopping abruptly saying under his breath, "Home…" and with that he turned to get Beckett in the break room.

Nearly colliding right outside the doorway, Castle and Beckett looked at each other and said, "I know who the killer is."

"Yeah, we just need to figure out how to prove it," Beckett then said, relieved that he'd thought the same. "Ryan, Espo," she called, the former just walking into the bull pen. "I need the theater footage from the time of our first murder."

"Sure," Ryan said, he and Esposito already watching the two as it'd been hard to avoid seeing them nearly running into one another.

"I need to make a phone call, but once I'm done I'll take a look at it," Beckett said.

Castle sat in his chair next to her, listening in on the conversation a little anxiously before she hung up and nodded once. He followed her over to where Ryan was waiting for them, seeing Esposito was on the phone.

"Who is it?" Beckett asked.

"Officer Adams, he had to switch to his personal phone, he's wondering if he needs to stay on the protective detail; he heard about Skipton dying," Esposito said as he joined them in the room.

"He does," Beckett said simply. She was going to tell Ryan to start playing the footage, when her phone rang. "Beckett," she said, forgetting to check the caller.

"It's Lanie, I just finished up the autopsy on Skipton, and I found something in the pocket of his pants that the hospital sent over with his body. It was in the very small pocket on the side, a plate from a medical alert bracelet. He was allergic to penicillin," Lanie said.

"And he was injected with it?" Beckett asked.

"He was and it was legitimately done… at the hospital unfortunately," Lanie said. "He didn't have the allergy on his medical records, I'm trying to figure out why that is, but he wasn't murdered."

"Okay, thanks Lanie," Beckett said, hanging up. "I almost thought-"

"So did I, but I think two is enough," Castle said in response before she could finish.

"Guys?" Ryan asked, he and Esposito watching the two.

"Sorry, start up the footage," Beckett said, going to stand right next to the screen. She watched the dancer on the stage, and when the figure turned their face towards the security camera she paused it and then zoomed in.

"What the hell?" Esposito said, stepping up to the screen. "How'd you get the idea?"

"Home," Castle said simply as Beckett left the room.

"Call Officer Adams, put the backstage of the theater on lockdown, and get officers outside watching all the exits," Beckett said, going to her desk.

"On it," Esposito said as he and Ryan got their phones and began dialing.

"Yes, this is Detective Beckett, I need to speak with the judge," Beckett said as she and Castle were standing at her desk.

Listening in on the other half of that conversation, Castle wasn't too surprised when she hung up looking a lot less tense and asked her, "Are we set?"

"How'd you like to see the ballet in person Castle?" Beckett asked.

"I've always wanted to," he replied simply as they grabbed their coats and she called for Ryan and Esposito while they hurried to leave the station.


	12. Ever Wending Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Home (When Shadows Fall) by Harry Clarkson, Geoffrey Clarkson and Peter van Steeden, the version I've taken it from was sung by Paul McCartney from his album Kisses On the Bottom.

"Great rehearsal," the director said. "We had a few incidents but that'll make for a great opening. Relax for an hour, and then come back ready to go."

Opening the door to the dressing room after leaving the director's post dress-rehearsal meeting, the dancer turned, and gasped when they saw there was someone in their chair.

"That was impressive," Beckett said, standing up as Castle leaned back against the vanity next to her.

"You were watching?" the dancer asked.

"Of course," Castle said. "We wanted to see you perform, because you've done an amazing job of it; outside the theater too."

"What are you talking about?" the dancer said, looking confused.

"Again," Beckett said, looking at Castle, who nodded in response. "You're a liar Ms. Holsten, and I hope you enjoyed your time on the stage, because that'll be your last performance."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Amy repeated.

Beckett didn't say anything in response, only took a picture from the vanity, handing it to the dancer.

"That's me," Amy said, barely looking at the picture.

"That's what we thought at first," Castle said. "But when you zoom in," he said as Beckett put another picture on top of the first one. "Things become a lot clearer."

"That's Melody Griffin, your understudy," Beckett said as Amy visibly grit her teeth. "There's no point in denying that," she said before the woman could protest. "We just spoke to her and she said you had pretty much forced her to practice your role. Just in case she said you told her."

"But it was Neil," Amy said.

"Mr. Skipton passed away this morning, as you know already from Officer Adams, and yet, you seem to be doing pretty well," Castle said. "So was he just a pawn?"

"You murdered your mother," Beckett said as Amy didn't respond to him. "And Lorenzo Martine who was your former lover."

Amy just stared at the two before she lunged for her purse on the couch, picking it up and opening it hurriedly.

When the dancer looked back at them Castle said, "I hope you don't mind, I borrowed your gun. I'll give it back though… when that purse goes into evidence of course."

"Put your hands behind your back," Beckett said before she cuffed the woman. "You are under arrest for the murders of Claude Démodé and Lorenzo Martine, as well as the twins your mother was carrying. Sit down," she said, making her sit on the couch.

As she was calling Ryan over a walkie-talkie, Castle asked Amy, "Why kill your own mother?"

"You didn't know her," the woman shot back to him angrily. "She put out this stupid façade of loving these girls, but she hated my sister and I."

"I have my doubts on that," Beckett said simply, putting the walkie-talkie away. "She left her inheritance to you and your sister; well, to your sister now since there was a clause that if you caused her death or participated in any way you'd be left with nothing."

"But we were partially our father too," Amy sneered, not seeming to care about that. "She just wanted to control us, dance, all the time, dance."

"You wanted to be a painter," Castle said.

"There were a lot of things I wanted to be, but no, ballet it was and ballet it had to be," Amy said before she muttered in French as she bowed her head. She suddenly laughed and said, "There wasn't going to be much dancing for her, not when she was carrying Neil's brats."

"Is that why you killed her?" Beckett asked.

"No, I could have cared less because we weren't together when he was screwing my mother. What I hated was the idea that she was coming back to the troupe; after the two were born, and I was going to have to work for her, be fucking controlled by her," Amy said, her teeth clenched so tightly together she almost didn't get the words out.

"She was going to be the choreographer," Castle stated.

"The permanent choreographer, and Lorenzo was going to assist her. I would have had to spend the rest of my life under her thumb, watching her and my ex married and having a family together that I never did," Amy said bitterly. "I hated her."

"You tried to set up your father though," Beckett said simply.

"Because he left!" Amy yelled. "He didn't bother to try and fight to stay with us, just let my mother kick his ass out the door without looking back. He deserved to go to jail; I just wished it'd worked." She shook her head and muttered, "They're all the same, mothers, pushing kids. You, the ones at the school who say all that annoying stuff about how cute their daughters are in ballet slippers. Living their lives through them."

Shaking her head when Castle looked at her when the dancer had said that, Beckett said, "That's a great thought, luckily you will never teach a child again. Come in," she called as there was a knock on the door. "Take her in please," she told Esposito and Ryan who'd come in.

"She confess?" Esposito asked, helping her up.

"One thing," Castle said, stopping him. "Why did you implicate Skipton?"

"Neil? Because there was no one else left since you didn't believe it was my sister or father. And because he never stopped saying my mother's name in bed," Amy answered simply. "How did you find out it was me?" she then asked.

" _Maison_. Your own boyfriend implicated you whether he meant to or not and your sister let us know you hated the song _Home_ ," Beckett answered. "So even though you tried to implicate them, they returned the favor."

"Karma works in mysterious ways I guess," Castle said as Esposito led the woman out. "Are you mad right now?"

"Slightly, but she obviously doesn't know how I am as a mother, so I'll let her think whatever she wants," Beckett answered. She went to the vanity and picked up the gun that Amy had had in her purse and put it back inside; handing the purse to the officer that was outside the door. She and Castle left backstage, seeing the understudy for Amy's part talking with the director.

"Is it true?" the man asked, walking over to them once he saw them.

"I'm afraid so," Beckett said. "You'll need to have her understudy dance."

"I hope she's up to it," Castle said.

"She's far better than Amy really," the director said with a shrug. "Always had an I'm better than you attitude, made it hard to work with her. Alright everyone," he then called to the cast and crew that were gathered near him. "Showtime is fast approaching and the show must go on!"

* * *

"I'm glad to hear this case was settled as well as it was," Gates was saying as Castle and Beckett were in her office. "And that you allowed Esposito and Ryan to take care of Ms. Holsten."

"I thought it would be better once her trial rolls around," Beckett said simply.

"And there were no accomplices? What about your second vic?" Gates asked.

"It turns out that while Holsten is a ballerina, she's a very fit ballerina, she managed to drag Martine to the apartment, claiming he was drunk," Castle said.

"And a neighbor helped her open the door before the shots were fired," Beckett said. "But since he never saw Holsten's face, he couldn't really ID her. And she was the one who had gone with our second vic to get the succinylcholine from our dealer. Who is still at large. We found the vial in her apartment," she continued. "Bundled with some clothes that had gunshot residue on them. We're thinking she wanted to find a building with an incinerator and destroy the evidence that way. She just didn't have a chance to do it before we got on to her."

"Alright, I'm sure your daughter will be happy to hear you've solved the case," Gates said. "How is she?"

"She's doing well," Beckett said simply. When Gates nodded and asked her to have Ryan and Esposito finish up things with the killer, she left the office, pausing when she saw LT escorting someone to them. "Amber," she said in slight surprise. "How can I help you?"

"I just got your message, my sister killed her?" Amber asked, tears in her eyes. When Castle and Beckett nodded slightly she sucked in a deep breath and said, "That… actually doesn't surprise me. She and my mother never really got along that well; I just never thought she'd go through it." She then said, "I do have some good news… I was at Mt. Surrey today, and they called me in to let me know they were upholding my mother's request about the classes so I am now the teacher for the school. And I talked to them about starting Ballroom and Latin dancing lessons on Saturday mornings."

"Did they agree to it?" Beckett asked.

"They did," Amber said with a smile. "And they liked the idea so much they're starting this Saturday, even though I tried to tell them it's a little short notice. But they're contacting the parents of the students that were in my mother's class. I wanted to tell you in person, as well as thank you for finding my mother's killer."

"It wasn't a problem," Beckett replied. "And Julia will be there at…?"

"Ten, the class will be an hour long, in the studio," Amber replied. "She'll need some shoes and something to wear too, to let you know. I'll probably have to explain that to the others in the first class, but that's alright."

"Thank you for letting me know," Beckett said, having to stop herself from saying us. She then went over to her desk and took a piece of paper off the top, handing it to Amber. "Your mother's will was read earlier today, I'm sorry we didn't inform you in time, but we had a warrant to open it."

"I don't mind, I know you did it for your case," Amber said. "Oh, Amy and I… wait… this was in my mother's will?" she asked, her head shooting up.

"If we'd seen that before we would have suspected your sister a lot sooner," Castle said. "But we didn't have a reason to look at it. So you're going to be pretty rich, you could even open your own studio if you wanted to."

"I have another idea," Amber said. She then looked at Beckett and asked, "You suspected my father Amy told me. You… did you meet him?"

"We needed to speak with him, so yes. I don't know if your sister told you, but he's deaf and mute," Beckett said.

"Yes, I… think he's been so since birth," Amber said. "He worked at a firm with a partner who would speak in court, but they were both very successful until the economy went bad and they went bankrupt. How I don't know because I only heard about this from Amy."

"So she kept tabs on your dad?" Beckett asked.

"From a distance, she never forgave him for leaving after I was born though our mom gave him no choice," Amber said. She then took in a deep breath and asked, "Is there any way I can get in contact with him?"

Sharing a look with his fiancée, Castle said, "I think so."

"Excuse me," Beckett said before leaving the two. She went over to LT, and spoke to him before he left and she waited at the elevator as she watched Castle leading Amber to the back room where there would be more privacy. Around ten minutes later, the officer returned, leading a cleaned and better dressed Costa with him, and she took out her pad of paper, writing down on it before showing it to him.

His eyes widening, Costa nodded fervently at Beckett, who led him to the back room before making him stop.

"Amber," Beckett said, to get the woman's attention as she looked out a window.

Turning, Amber saw the man standing just past the doorway and she whispered, "Papa?"

Nodding, Costa entered the room, starting to sign something, but he stopped and then turned to Beckett who handed him the pad of paper.

Going to stand with his fiancée in the doorway, Castle and she watched as Amber read the note on the paper, and then hugged her father tightly. He found himself suddenly missing Alexis; and made a mental note to call her later as the young woman looked at them.

"He says he's been waiting to see me," Amber said, tears in her eyes again.

"He's been asking since we brought him in," Beckett said.

"Thank you so much Ms. Beckett, Mr. Castle," Amber said as she and her father parted. "I guess we should give this back," she said, taking the notebook from her father.

"That you can keep," Beckett said, taking the pencil but not the pad of paper.

"Thank you," Amber said again, smiling widely as she fished for a pen in her purse. "Come on, I'll take you home to meet Yvette," she wrote on the paper and spoke at the same time. "My wife."

"Congratulations," Castle said, a little startled hearing that; and looking at Beckett he could see she was too.

"We didn't want to wait another second," Amber said as she smiled slightly at her father's shocked expression before it dissolved into a smile. "We wanted more. Thank you again."

"You're welcome, and congratulations," Beckett said before she and Castle left the room to let the two pass. "We'll see you Saturday."

"Think they'll be alright?" Castle asked after Amber had said goodbye to them.

"I think she's planning on splitting that inheritance with her father," Beckett commented as they went to her desk to watch Amber and Costa leave. "And helping him get his medication again so he'll be in her life a lot more."

"I thought that too," Castle said. "Julia's so lucky."

"And she helped us with the case too, even though she didn't know she did either," Beckett pointed out as she sat down.

"That's true, listen; do you have much left to do?" Castle asked, sitting down and leaning over slightly so he wouldn't have to whisper to her.

"I was thinking about leaving as soon as Ryan and Espo came back," Beckett replied. "Why?"

"I think we should stop one place before we head home," Castle said, not surprised when his fiancée's eyebrow raised questioningly in response.

* * *

"This better be good Castle, usually we decide together," Beckett said as she let him into her apartment an hour later.

"I promise you it will be," he said, setting the bag he held down in the kitchen. "First thing I need to take care of though…" And with that he gathered Beckett in his arms, and kissed her hard.

Not really surprised at that; since it wasn't the first time he'd done that seeing her again after work; Beckett was able to quickly recover and respond to the kiss. She could feel the slight desperation in his grasp, and got an idea, though as they parted to breathe she set it aside for the moment. "Okay, so more or did you get it out of your system?" she asked though he was brushing his lips across hers as she was speaking, lightly pecking at her lips from time to time.

Before Castle could answer, Beckett was kissing him, though not as roughly as he'd done before. He didn't mind though, as he'd been expecting her to do that the way she'd responded to him before. They finally parted, and he pressed his forehead to hers for a moment before letting her go.

"Don't forget," Beckett then told him, giving him her ring. When he'd slipped it on her finger she asked, "What did you get?"

"Julia gave me the idea; I went to your favorite deli down the street," Castle said in response as he turned to the bag with their dinner in it, pulling out two sandwiches. "Turkey for you, and pastrami for me."

"Thank you," Beckett said before he pulled out some fries. They got plates and she poured their wine before she followed him to the couch. As they were eating she noticed him glancing at his watch a couple times, and finally asked him, "What is it?"

"Shouldn't Julia be here?" Castle asked.

"They went out for dessert," Beckett said simply. "They'll be here soon I'm sure, my dad knows she has school tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," Castle said, relaxing then, though he still wanted to see Julia. "Are you going to tell her?"

"I've been debating that since we left the station," Beckett said. "And you mean we."

"We, sorry," Castle quickly corrected himself. "I think you should tell her, but don't mention that Miss Amy was kind of crazy."

"Of course," Beckett said sarcastically. "I just hope this doesn't scare her."

"She'd never think of doing that," Castle said. "But you might be right, I doubt any five year old would realize she could do that to her mother."

"We'll see when we talk to her. Speaking of daughters, did you talk to Alexis?" Beckett asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah, she was going out the door to a movie with Diana and their friend Dawn," Castle said. "So we talked really quickly, but I remembered to tell her what we were going to do for Easter, so she wants to talk to Julia on Skype that night."

"I'm sure she'll love that," Beckett said, finishing her meal.

"Who? Julia or Alexis?" Castle asked, pretending to be serious. When Beckett merely glanced at him he said, "Are you looking forward to it?"

"Sunday?" Beckett asked. At his nod she took a deep breath and then said, "A little, I didn't do the Easter egg hunts for too long as a child."

"You found them too easily?" Castle asked.

"My dad was always despairing since he was the one who hid them," Beckett said. "So he stopped and they instead gave me a basket with different things, candy, coloring books, the normal stuff you get."

"That reminds me, what are we getting for her?" Castle asked.

"I think you should send something to Alexis first off," Beckett said.

"I was planning on that," he told her as he cleared the coffee table of their plates.

"Well, for Julia I think some candy," Beckett continued.

"Definitely have to get her a Cadbury crème egg, I bet you she hasn't had that before," Castle said as he walked back to her with the bottle of wine they were drinking.

"No, but don't be too disappointed if she doesn't like it," Beckett said. "That can go in an egg… so are we taking her to the hunt and then bringing her back to your place?"

"Of course, hunt the eggs at the park and then back home for the eggs we'll dye with her and the prize ones too," Castle said. "That's how it's done. And we're dying them Saturday right?"

"Yes, and speaking of Saturday, I feel like calling my dad now, see where they are," Beckett said, getting her phone out and starting to dial when there was a knock on the door. "Come in Dad," she called, knowing it was him.

"Mommy!" Julia cried, running through the door as soon as Jim had opened it for her. She rushed into her mother's arms, throwing hers around her as they hugged tightly. She snuggled close to her and said, "I made a picture for you when we were painting colors."

"Thank you sweetie," Beckett said, kissing her forehead before they shared a kiss. "Say hi to Castle," she said, turning her to him.

Castle took Julia into his arms and shared a kiss with her before he sat her on his lap. "How was school? Besides the painting?" he asked her.

"It was good. Mommy, are you finished?" Julia asked then.

"We are sweetie," Beckett said, looking up at her dad as he sat in the armchair closest to her.

"Oh, who… who did it?" Julia whispered.

"You don't have to know," Castle said, kissing the side of her head.

"No, I want to know," Julia said, her voice still in a whisper. "Please Mommy."

"It was Miss Amy," Beckett said, not surprised when her daughter seemed to go limp in Castle's hold. "Did you think it was Miss Amber?"

"I was afraid it was Mommy, she's the best teacher," Julia said, biting her lower lip. "But it wasn't her was it?"

"No, she didn't do anything," Beckett assured her.

"Does Miss Amy go to jail now?" Julia asked.

"She will," Castle answered.

Julia shuddered and went over to her mother, sitting on her lap and hugging her tightly. "I don't like she hurt her mommy," she whispered.

"I know sweetie, but-" Beckett started to say, kissing her forehead.

"I won't do that to you Mommy, I love you," Julia said, looking up at her mother as she spoke earnestly.

"Oh don't worry, I knew you wouldn't already, but I'm glad to hear you won't," Beckett said before she kissed her.

"But speaking of Miss Amber," Castle said, looking at his fiancée to see if she was okay with the subject change. When Beckett nodded to him, he went to the table where she'd placed a shopping bag, and he took it back to the others.

"She came to the station today, before we came home," Beckett told Julia. "And said that she's going to be the new ballet teacher at the school."

"She is?" Julia asked excitedly.

"She is, and she told us something else too," Beckett replied. "They're going to let her teach Ballroom and Latin on Saturday mornings. Do you want to go?"

"Yes!" Julia nearly shrieked, barely letting her mother finish her question. She covered her mouth and said in a whisper, "Yes please Mommy."

"Good, because she told her we'll be there," Castle said. "And after we left work, your mom and I went somewhere."

"Is it what's in the bag?" Julia asked excitedly.

"It is," Beckett said. "We picked these out together and we're hoping you'll like them," she said as Castle took out two children's sized workout shirts and then two pairs of black workout pants that ended above the ankles.

"Ooh, these are like Jennifer was wearing?" Julia asked, looking pleased. When her mother and Castle nodded she then picked up the light blue workout shirt and looked at the other, which was grey, and giggled, hugging the clothes to her. "I can't wait to wear them, can I try them on?"

"That wasn't all we got," Castle said, reaching into the bag for the last item.

Taking the shoebox, Julia gasped in amazement when Castle took the cover off for her. "They're mine?" she whispered, looking at everyone.

"What are they?" Jim asked, having watched the three talk.

"Ballroom shoes, the kind I like," Julia said, taking out a black shoe with a strap across the middle and slight heels. "Can I try these on now?" she asked her mother.

"Come on," Beckett said, setting her down and taking the shoes and clothes. "We'll be right back," she told her fiancé and dad. "I'll have her try on the clothes first before she comes out to show you the shoes."

When the two had left Jim asked Castle, "How is she doing? Katie," he corrected himself in case he was confused as to who he was referring to.

"Better now the case is closed," Castle said. "I'm pretty relieved too; we didn't want to come home yet again without having done that and have to explain it to Julia. She helped us actually, with the case."

"Julia? How?" Jim asked.

Castle quickly explained how Julia had reacted that morning to the song _Home_ , and the fact that he and Beckett had remembered it was the song playing when the vic had been found. "She called Miss Amber and when she told Kate her sister had always hated the song with a vengeance, we had our motive."

"Terrible to think about," Jim said. "Has that part of it bothered her?"

"Slightly, but I assured her since she's never forced Julia into hobbies or activities she doesn't like I don't think she needs to worry," Castle said.

"She'll still be careful though," Jim pointed out.

"Which makes her a great mother," Castle said before they heard footsteps in the hall. "Can we see the shoes now?" he called out.

"Go ahead sweetie," Beckett said, since Julia had suddenly had an attack of shyness. She led her out and waited for Castle's reaction as her daughter ran over to him first.

"Oof, well, how do you like the shoes?" he asked as she leapt into his arms almost.

"They feel like dancing shoes," Julia giggled. "Do I look like a dancer?"

"Very much," Jim said. "And very grown up too."

Smiling at that, Julia leaned against Castle and said, "Do I?"

"He's right, but you look like a dancer and you look very sweet," he told her, hugging her tightly.

Kissing his cheek in response, Julia hurried over to her grandfather to hug him and show off her shoes. "What do we learn first?" she asked as she spun around once a few minutes later.

"You'll have to wait and find out," Beckett said, wrapping her arms around her daughter as she came to her. "So you like the shoes, are they comfortable?"

Nodding in response, Julia stepped back from her mother, and began to do the box step saying, "What if Miss Amber asks how I know this?"

"Just say I taught you," Jim said.

"Do you know how to do it?" Julia asked him.

"I learned when I was very young, my parents; your mom's grandparents; made me learn," Jim said.

Holding on to Julia as she leaned against her again, Beckett saw her yawning and smiled, kissing her temple saying, "I think it's time someone went to bed."

"Oh, but Mommy," Julia began. But she then remembered she had school the next day and she sighed. "I don't want to, I'm too excited."

"I noticed," Beckett said. "By the way," she then said to her dad. "Where did you take her for dessert?"

"We went out for some ice cream," Jim said. "She was hungry for some."

"You went to Serendipity didn't you?" Beckett asked. She smiled while she shook her head at the same time and said, "Dad-"

"That's what grandparents are supposed to do," Jim said as Julia started to protest. "Spoil their grandchildren, and we shared one of their frozen hot chocolate drinks."

"Grandpapa drank most of it Mommy," Julia told her.

"Okay, I'm not mad," Beckett said, mostly for Julia's sake. "Just don't take her all the time."

"Of course not," Jim said. "I'd better go though, your mom's right, you need to get some sleep," he said to Julia.

"Will you come still on Sunday?" the little girl asked, rushing over to him.

"If you'll let me I'll join you at your first class on Saturday," Jim said, picking her up as they walked to the door.

"Oh, oh, please Grandpapa, I want you to see how I dance there too," Julia said eagerly. She then hugged him tightly and said, "Thank you for the movie and dinner and dessert. I love you Grandpapa."

"I love you too Julia," Jim said, kissing her before setting her down.

"Thank you Dad, we'll try and head to the class a little early Saturday," Beckett said, hugging him quickly. "So we'll meet you there?"

"Of course," Jim said. "Night you two, Castle."

"Night Jim," Castle replied as they watched him go. When Beckett had closed and locked the door he asked, "Bath time?"

"It is," Beckett said, about to pick up her daughter. She was a little surprised when Julia turned to Castle, making him pick her up. "Do you want him to give you a bath this time sweetie?" she asked as they headed into her room.

"Can you both?" Julia asked, her fingers in her mouth.

"Yes," Beckett and Castle said at the same time to the little girl's giggle. Looking at each other, they then turned their attention to Julia, Beckett taking off her dance shoes before she went to get the little girl's pajamas while Castle prepped the tub.

Once she was in the water, Julia looked up as her mother got on her knees next to her and began to wash her body, Castle handing her her toys. "Can I play now Mommy?" she asked as soon as Beckett had finished.

"Yes, but not for too long," she replied, sitting to let Castle take her place next to the bathtub. She smiled as the two began to play with the foam shapes she had there for her daughter, stacking them on top of the water as the tub wasn't against a wall.  
"That's a pretty impressive pyramid," Castle said as he was watching Julia putting all the blue shapes on top of each other. He saw her yawning again, that time for much longer than before and started to stand up before his fiancée spoke.

"I think you can handle it," Beckett said, smiling as he looked at her in surprise. "You have before."

"Okay, time to get out sweetheart, your mom said," Castle said quickly before the little girl could object. He helped her step out and into the towel Beckett handed him before drying her while Beckett emptied the tub. "Dry?" he asked after he'd been running the towel over her for a while.

"Yeah," Julia said. "I'm getting cold."

"Then into your pajamas you go," Castle said, helping her quickly get dressed.

"Here sweetie," Beckett said, helping Julia into her robe.

"Now what?" the little girl asked, looking up at them.

"To bed," Beckett said, picking her up. She had to smile as Julia didn't protest; only sighed as she wrapped her arms around her neck. She kissed her daughter's cheek and then carried her into her room where Castle pulled the covers down.

"Wait, can I see outside Mommy?" Julia asked before her mother could put her in bed.

Opening the blinds, Castle stood with Beckett at the window, and they looked out together at the view, the rain sliding down the window. "Looks pretty cold tonight," he commented as fog was around the tops of the higher buildings.

"Are you gonna be warm?" Julia asked him.

"He will," Beckett answered before he could. "But you need to get under your covers before you freeze." And with that she set Julia down to take off her robe which she gave to Castle so he could put it away, helping her daughter into her bed.

"Are you gonna come to my school with me?" Julia asked as she was sitting up, waiting for Castle to come over.

"I can't tomorrow, but the day after that is Friday, and that's when I'm taking you by myself," Castle told her, sitting on the edge next to her.

"How many days is that?" Julia asked.

"Not a lot," Castle promised. He hugged her when she held her arms out to him and shared a kiss with her saying, "I can't wait for your first class on Saturday."

"Me too, I hope I'm good," Julia said worriedly.

Castle was going to remind her that Derek Hough had said she would be good, but he held back as he wanted to try something, instead saying, "I think you will be, you look like a dancer when you're dancing to your music. You just need a teacher to learn the official steps and you'll be awesome." He smiled when Julia blushed at that and hugged him tightly, whispering a thank you to him. "But for now, I think you need to finish this week before we start getting really excited for the classes."

"Kay," Julia sighed. "Thank you for my clothes and shoes."

"You're very welcome sweetheart. I love you Julia, sweet dreams," Castle said before sharing a kiss with her. He wasn't surprised when she nodded and then hugged him, and he kissed her temple before giving his spot to Beckett, standing where she'd been; next to the nightstand; before watching them.

"Thank you too Mommy, I love my class things," Julia told her mother.

"I'm really glad you do. Now, I want you to stay here tonight okay? You have all your friends," Beckett said, motioning to the stuffed animals at the other end of the bed. "And they'll keep you company."

"I will Mommy," Julia promised. "Are you excited too?"

"For the classes? I am," Beckett assured her. "I can't wait to see what you get to learn."

"A-Are you and Castle going to come see them all?" Julia asked, not looking at her mother, instead at her lap.

Moving around Beckett to sit down where she'd been as she moved to hold her daughter in her lap, Castle ran his hand over the back of Julia's head and said, "We'll be there every week if we can, and since your mom doesn't work Saturdays, we'll make sure we're there. I'll make sure she goes."

Nudging Castle in the side as he was sitting next to her, Beckett said, "He's right sweetie. Did you ask because we don't go to watch you practice ballet?"

"No mommies and daddies go, but they come at the end and see a little," Julia said. But she quickly continued with, "I know you and Castle work, I just want you to see me in school, not just at home."

"We did see you," Castle said. "In the class."

A little unsure if they should tell her, Beckett quickly knew how to continue that; since her fiancé was looking at her to do so; and said, "He's right, we had to see Miss Amber at the school for something, to check on something," she had to correct herself since she was thinking as she spoke. "And we saw the class for that day. We saw you talking with Celia and then dancing your steps."

"And you're pretty great there, so I think you'll be a pro Ballroom and Latin dancer in no time," Castle said, leaning over to kiss Julia's forehead as she giggled at his words.

"You are my little dancer sweetie," Beckett then said as Julia looked up at her. "And you always will be I think; you were born to be a dancer."

Smiling at that, Julia murmured a thank you and then said, "I hope Celia's in the class too. And you don't have to see me all the classes Mommy, Castle, but some is good."

"We'll go every week," Beckett said in a slightly firm tone of voice. "Okay, back into bed." She hugged her daughter tightly before they shared a kiss and said, "I love you so much Julia, sweet dreams."

"Night Mommy, I love you, lots and lots too," Julia said as Beckett laid her down and tucked her in with her Stitch doll. "I hope you and Castle won't be cold."

"Don't worry," Castle said, leaning down to share another kiss with her before Julia demanded another from her mother.

"Get some sleep sweetie; we'll wake you up tomorrow morning okay?" Beckett said, stroking her cheek with the backs of her fingers.

"Kay, night Mommy, Castle," Julia sighed, tucking her doll under her chin and closing her eyes.

Castle waited behind Beckett as they watched the little girl soon falling asleep. He waited for her to come out of the dark room before he closed the door, and as they were walking out of the hall asked, "Wine? Coffee? Sleep?"

Smiling at that, Beckett said, "Coffee sounds good now. I don't have to go in too early since the boys offered to let me take my time tomorrow morning in taking her to school."

"Nice of them to do," Castle said, going to her coffee machine.

"And your plans?" Beckett asked, sitting on the couch after she'd taken off her heels and set them aside.

"I guess writing," Castle said. "My own version of paperwork."

"A lot more fun version of it," Beckett shot back though she was smiling. "But are you still behind?"

"Slightly," Castle said. "But just a chapter."

"Your publisher isn't going crazy? This is a new one remember," Beckett asked.

"Yeah," Castle said, remembering at the beginning of the month when his second ex-wife had suddenly left NYC with little warning to join her new husband in LA. He'd gotten a new publisher with her departure, and luckily the man was easier to work with since they didn't have any kind of past as he'd had with his ex. "No, he's understanding though I couldn't really tell him I didn't start the book during the summer because I was busy trying to be a father to Julia before you told me you wanted me to be. And also trying to help you out too." He then turned back to look at his fiancée and said, "I didn't mean that negatively by the way. I enjoyed doing that… both things actually."

"I know," Beckett said. "But how are you with the book? You haven't really talked about the plot much though I helped you out with some holes you had since you started it."

"It's turning out to be a difficult one," Castle said, going over then with two mugs of coffee. "Not because of lack of inspiration, it's just there's so much going on in real life with the woman who I based Nikki Heat on that I want to focus on more sometimes." He sat next to her and said, "And by that I mean I find myself wanting to spend more time with you than a book. Definitely want to spend more time with our daughter."

"You know, I find myself really glad to know when you say things like that it's not because you're trying to get something for yourself," Beckett said, setting down her mug. "But because you mean it."

"I manage to get that twelve year old you're fond of mentioning to leave at times like that," Castle said. "No, I really mean what I say, especially about Julia."

"I know that too, and I love you for that. I know she does. I was really touched what you told her about her dancing," Beckett told him.

"I was almost going to mention Derek, but… I wanted her to know that I thought she would be great," Castle said.

"I think she was pretty happy to hear it," Beckett replied as she made him put down his mug then. She leaned against him then as he wrapped his arm around her, and they were quiet for a while, listening to the patter of rain on the windows behind them as it intensified slightly.

Moving to be able to face her, Castle pressed his lips against Beckett's, and was pleased when they pursed slightly in response before parting to allow his tongue into her mouth as he made it more passionate than he'd started out as. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she turned towards him, and held her closely against him while they parted for a quick breath of air.

Cupping his cheeks with her hands, Beckett leaned over to kiss him, when she paused, hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching. Moving back from Castle, she turned with him to see Julia coming out from the hall, her eyes a little bleary from sleep. "What's wrong sweetie," she said as they both stood to go to the little girl.

"I'm thirsty," Julia said, rubbing her cheek with the back of her hand.

While Castle headed to the kitchen, Beckett picked her daughter up, cradling her like a baby as Julia snuggled against her, sighing deeply. She sat back down on the couch and kissed the little girl's forehead before saying, "How were you sleeping?"

"Good, I just was thirsty," Julia repeated sleepily.

"Not anymore," Castle said, handing her a glass. He sat next to Beckett, watching the little girl sip slowly at the water before taking two larger gulps and then handing the cup to her mother. He expected his fiancée to take Julia back to her room, but was quiet, watching her rocking her slowly until she had fallen back asleep. He followed Beckett to her room, and they tucked Julia in before he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and waited for Beckett to do the same before they left the room. "So, should we head to your room now?" he asked once they were in the living room.

"We didn't finish our coffee," Beckett said simply, going back to the couch. "I was going to ask you if these lessons were okay."

"What made you not ask?" Castle asked as they finished off their drinks.

"The way you were at the store," Beckett said, smiling as she remembered. After she'd left the Precinct he'd met her at a store that supplied clothing for different types of dance, and he'd dragged her though the shoes section, trying to find the perfect pair for Julia before he'd found the pair they'd eventually bought at her agreement. "So you don't mind her one day maybe doing the Rumba? Or the Salsa?"

"I would have said I only wanted her to learn the Ballroom dances," Castle said, shaking his head. "And I think she'd be pretty happy doing those dances too, she likes the faster ones. I really wonder what she'll be learning first off."

"Probably basic steps, and those extensions she's practiced so many times after watching _Dancing With the Stars_ ," Beckett said simply before standing to take his empty mug and hers to the kitchen. As she was rinsing them out she wasn't too surprised when Castle came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm wondering if you can do something for me," she said, turning to him.

"Of course," Castle said.

"Check on her for me?" Beckett asked.

"Okay," Castle replied easily. "And then what?"

"And then you can join me in my room if you want to," Beckett said, drying her hands and turning to him. She wasn't too surprised when he gathered her up in his arms; kissing her hard; and she responded to that as quickly as she could. When they pulled apart to breathe she stepped away from him, and turned to walk to her room.

Breathing out slightly, as he watched her go, Castle went to Julia's room, opening the door carefully to check on the little girl. He went inside instead of just checking from the door, smiling slightly as her lips were pursed and her chin was on top of her Stitch doll's head. He couldn't resist leaning down and kissing her forehead, stepping back and forcing himself to leave before he woke her up. As he walked down to Beckett's room, his mind went from Julia to his fiancée, and his stride sped up slightly as he went in.

Hearing the sound of the door locking outside the bathroom, Beckett smiled at her reflection in the mirror, but didn't turn around as she went over to the shower. Before she could reach it though, she felt Castle's hands on her, a little rough. "She's alright?" she asked, trying to keep her smirk out of her voice.

"She's fine, fast asleep," Castle said simply, hesitating. Finally he couldn't take it anymore, and he reached down, opening her robe before he slid his hands down the front of her body. "Was I invited to join, or are you just going to tease me?" he asked when she turned around before his hands could get close to the junction of her legs.

"You're coming in with me, but you're severely overdressed," Beckett said simply, starting to unbutton his shirt. She didn't try to fight the smile on her face as he leaned over and kissed at her neck, pushing him back so they could take off his clothes.

The second he was naked, Castle was pulling the robe off Beckett's shoulders and then arms before it sank to the floor to join his clothing. He pulled her to the shower, turning on the water and closing the door behind them. There he allowed himself to kiss her, and did it feverishly, feeling the pressure between their lips as she flicked the tip of her tongue against his lips. He could feel his idea slipping away that he'd come up with watching her in her robe, and he pulled back.

"What?" Beckett asked, a little surprised at the look on his face. She let out a startled cry when he made her turn around, pulling her back against his chest. She sucked in a deep breath of air as she could feel his arousal against her, and it distracted her for a moment from what he was doing. But when his hands suddenly cupped her breasts, she forgot about his predicament, instead feeling his fingers lightly rolling her nipples around a few times.

"What did you plan on doing?" Castle suddenly asked her as he covered her mounds with both hands, squeezing gently as he felt his fiancée was almost rigid in front of him.

"I don't remember now," Beckett gasped as he bent down to her neck and sucked a little hard at the junction between it and her shoulder. "You… I think you have the better idea."

"This wasn't my full idea," Castle said before he reached down, sliding his hands over the front of her body. "I wish you had a mirror right here, so you can watch what I'm doing to you," he whispered in her ear, his voice a little husky in his desire though he didn't realize it.

Beckett could hear his tone easily since he was right behind her, but she couldn't really reply to it, as his hands had found their destination. Parting her legs for his unasked question with his touch, she jerked back against him slightly as he began to finger her at the junction of her legs, and she only hoped she could support her weight the entire time; knowing from experience that he could easily make her lose the function of her legs if he was going to make her climax as he usually did. "You…" she started to say when one of his hands went down to her thigh, spreading that leg a little further from the other. Her heart was pounding as his hand stayed on her thigh, using it to hold her back against him, and she knew she was safe where she was.

When he felt sure that Beckett was alright against him, Castle reached up, moving from her thigh to her abdomen. He carefully raked his nails over her skin, feeling her shivering at his touch, and her muscles were almost dancing under him. He nudged her hair out of the way with his nose, enough to expose her shoulder, and he bit on the middle of it, not enough to hurt, but enough to make her tense up, her moan faltering for a brief second. All while he was doing that, his fingers were still rubbing at her swollen nub, the digits rolling it around once before he flattened them on her and made a circular motion. He moved his lips from his bite up to her neck, but instead of staying there he got a sudden idea and detoured to below her ear.

Beckett's mouth was open, but she couldn't make a sound suddenly, instead she was sucking in the moist air around them from the hot water while he pressed his lips hotly around the skin below her lobe. The moisture on her lips matched the slickness of her folds as he was moving his fingers there at the same time. "Oh… god, _Castle_ ," she moaned, not even trying to hold back her desperation as he teased her, fingertips barely ghosting over her entrance.

"Tell me," was all that Castle would say in response to that, knowing what he would hear from her.

"You know already, just… touch me!" Beckett said, starting to feel slight irritation, though she could understand why he liked to do that with her. She had a large part of the control when they were working together; when it was just them, he had more opportunity to lead her, and she never really had much of a problem in allowing that, as long as he knew they were never really fighting for dominance. When it came to their love making they were more even than anything else. But her train of thought was lost to her as he started to run just one single finger through her folds, nearly making her collapse. He had to grab her tightly to keep her from falling, but she didn't care as he brought the other hand down to join his right as soon as he'd steadied her.

Castle remembered then why he preferred to actually make love to her slightly more than pleasuring her with his hands. He was fighting with his arousal, luckily he had her to focus all his attention on, and as he used both hands to touch as much of her as he could, he felt her starting to rock her hips against him; making him forget all about himself as he latched onto a sudden idea and immediately ran with it. "Move with me Kate," he whispered into her ear, nipping at the shell of it lightly, loving the moan he got out of her for that.

Trying to follow his semi-command, Beckett looked down her body, though all she could see were his hands. It was enough though, as feeling them was more important. She leaned back against him as he slowed down his movements, and she didn't bother to follow him. Instead she reached back behind her; that whole time having been grabbing onto the sides of his legs; and wrapped her arms around neck. She then spoke, saying, though it was filled with pauses and groans of pleasure, "If you want to join me at all after this, you need to stop delaying."

Though her voice wasn't exactly steady, Castle easily heard the demand in her tone, and he nodded against the side of her neck before he moved his fingers harder than he'd been before slowing down. He knew, feeling the way she was moving and tensing against him, that she was close already, so he brought her easily over the edge. He envied her a little her climax, watching as her back arched and she jerked against his chest, but he pushed that aside as he helped her until she was slowing down, breathing harshly as she slumped back against him. "Good?" he whispered to her, his arms around her waist.

"I think you saw and heard for yourself," Beckett breathed in deeply. When she felt slightly stronger she turned to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, kissing him deeply. She wasn't really surprised to get a reminder that he'd been left hanging pleasuring her, but she already had plans for that and instead put her effort in their tongues fighting for a moment before they slowly parted, panting heavily as the water behind him suddenly became cold.

"Was the point to take a shower?" Castle asked, turning the water off at his fiancée's direction. He wasn't too surprised when she didn't say a word to that, merely stepped outside to grab a towel. "Am I paying for doing what I wanted?" he asked as he followed her.

"Oh no, just thinking," Beckett said simply. She discarded the towel to the floor and could feel his eyes on her as she walked to the bed. She nearly got to it went she was suddenly lifted up to her gasp. "Oh god, Castle, I didn't-" she said as he nearly threw her on the bed. But before she could finish he was kissing her, hard, and she had to actually fight a little with him to stop him. "You-"

"I know, sorry, but… I can't wait for this," Castle said, shaking his head though he wasn't usually that rough with her. He made himself stop by grabbing pillows and tucking them behind her before he moved to lie between her legs. "I still can't wait," he warned her.

Cupping his cheeks with her hands in response, Beckett led him to her lips, and kissed him gently that time. She was relieved when he responded in turn, and they were very slow and deliberate before they parted. They didn't stop even though they needed to breathe, instead they brushed their lips across each others and kissed briefly before they made themselves pull enough apart to speak at her direction. "Go ahead," she said. She had to smile at Castle's flabbergasted look and said, "What?"

"You knew I had something in mind?" he asked her.

"To be honest, I had an idea, but we have time," Beckett said with a shrug. "And I owe you after what you did to me in the shower."

"So you did enjoy that," Castle said, smirking.

"Don't get cocky," Beckett said, that phrase ending in a heavy hiss as he suddenly slid into her. "I didn't mean it literally," she groaned; though it was one of ecstasy.

"Do you want me to stop?" Castle suddenly asked, his voice serious as he was waiting, watching her closely.

"Why do you ask me when we're like this," Beckett said, not caring if he heard the strain in her voice as she was struggling not to move until they'd settled their discussion.

"Because," and that was all Castle said, hesitating to say anything else.

"There are a lot of different things you can say to go after that word," Beckett said before biting her lower lip.

"I know, I-" Castle started to say before she kissed him. He then realized that she had guessed with that, and he let out a very loud, long groan in response, beginning to move. When she had stopped him to calm him down a little, he'd had a horrible flashback to Queens and finding out what had happened to her in the house. He'd hesitated because of that, but in that moment she was moving with him, their hips brushing together since he'd set a very slow pace. So he recovered a little from his memory and pulled back, staring at her.

Shivering at the intensity in his blue eyes, Beckett reached up to wrap her arms around Castle's neck tightly as she pulled him down a little more onto her body. Her breasts just barely brushed against his chest, and she was shaking harder at the sensation. She wasn't really surprised as he brushed his lips against hers before he ducked down, brushing them over each mound before he suddenly detoured. Her breath caught in her throat as he pressed a kiss firmly on her scar, and her entire body seemed to be burning in response.

Moving his head back quickly as Beckett's body arched at the touch of his lips, Castle moved up to her lips but he only hovered over them, wanting to feel her breath. He could sense it, panting over his lower lip and he flicked his tongue out to taste it before he was closing the gap in between them and plunging his tongue into her mouth. When she quickly responded to him; knowing she had been waiting for that; he brought one of his hands in between them, and proceeded to caress her. He had to put a little distance between their bodies, but found the feel of her skin under his hand more than worthwhile. She was just barely beginning to sweat from her exertions, matching each of his thrusts easily as they were still moving slowly, and his skin glided over hers as if over silk. He shuddered and pulled away, looking into her eyes again as she opened them to look at him.

For a long time the two only stared at one another, never stopping their dance together, never saying a word. Nothing needed to change in that moment, and they didn't need to utter anything to convey that. Looking into one another's eyes, they knew it already.

When their gaze broke, Beckett slid her hands up from his back to the back of his neck where she pushed down on his head and led him down to her neck. She bit her lower lip once as he nipped at the side of it, right above her racing pulse. She couldn't help it and her hips jerked up once in response to him before she made herself calm down as he drifted back down to her chest. A throaty, "Castle," escaped her lips, and she held him tightly to her as he suckled at both breasts, feeling his responding groan of pleasure before he moved back, his breath coming out short and quick. "Here," she said, wanting to give him something since it seemed he was intent on focusing on her that night, taking his hand with her own.

Before she could move him, Castle turned his hand to take hers, bringing it up to his lips. But he went to her wrist first, nipping slightly at the underside, and taking in her gasp before he moved his lips over the tips of each finger. He then let her take his hand, not surprised she hurriedly pressed a kiss to his palm before lowering it in between their bodies. As his fingers got closer to her the junction of her legs, he stopped moving, making her do the same. He was a little surprised when there were no protests to that, but understood she was allowing him because she wanted him to touch her. He looked down where his hand was, but even with the lights on in the room, he couldn't see much more than that. But he didn't need to see to touch her, as aroused as she was; he was feeling where she needed him to be easily.

As he started to concentrate on the apex of her legs, Beckett began to move, not realizing what she was doing until Castle stopped her. She quickly did so, but it took little time for her to move her hips towards him again. She was a little relieved when he began to move again, but made a slight sound in response to him pulling his hand away. But a second later he was tucking a pillow under her hips, in the right spot to get him to move deeper inside her, and helped with her wrapping her right leg around his waist. She circled the other around his legs, knowing he enjoyed that position, and she threw her arms around him, suddenly wanting to feel him as close to her as possible; though she wasn't sure how much closer they could possibly be than they already were.

"Let me…" Castle startled to say, his lips near her ear. "Let me switch," he finally was able to finish.

"No," Beckett said simply, but in a very firm tone of voice. She felt him shuddering against her in reaction to that, and moved over to take the lobe of his ear with her teeth. Nibbling slightly on it, she pulled back and looked into his eyes, reaching up with her hand.

Castle turned his head to press his cheek firmly into the palm of her hand, kissing Beckett's thumb as it passed over his lower lip. He moved down to her lips then, kissing her carefully for a moment before his thought to have that kiss be simpler changed in that second. He made it deeper, but also sensuous as he was moving slower than he had before. They were kissing rougher and more passionately the second time; after a quick breath of air; and as they were pulling away he stopped completely.

Instead of objecting that time, Beckett began to slightly shift, not enough for him to notice outright, but eventually to realize what she was doing where they were coupled together. She would have smirked when he suddenly started to thrust again, but that didn't happen as the rush of pleasure going through her as he did that took over quickly. She met his pace fairly easily, reaching down to his hip, sliding her fingers over his skin deliberately until she felt herself. She shook for a moment at the difference in texture, and at the almost imperceptible gap that was between them. Hurrying, she reached up, and grabbed his hand, making him reach down to where she'd been feeling. She bit her lower lip as he jolted hard against her once, her moan escaping around her teeth, before he was taking her lips.

Having felt the same thing she had, Castle kissed her hard again, but eventually lessened it until they were pulling apart slowly. Their breath mingled and became one in between their parted lips, and he moved his lips in the words, 'I love you,' before feeling the heat of her breath as her lips brushed the same words back to him. He finally couldn't stop himself, and he concentrated everything he had left on her, wanting to make her react as she had in the shower. To make her lose control because of him; to know she was allowing that to happen because he was the one doing things to her that she enjoyed so deeply it became too much. And he wasn't unaffected by that, feeling himself swiftly starting to skirt closer and closer to the edge, much faster than he had so far in the time they'd been together.

Feeling Castle going to her neck, Beckett jerked against him as he began to suck on the skin on the left that was right above her pulse. For a second she was a little concerned about him leaving a mark, but then decided that she had enough high collared shirts to toss her concern out of her mind. She shuddered at the thought of someone from work or a friend spotting any hickey Castle might create, but then was distracted as he moved over her chest. His lips were kissing randomly, gliding over her breasts, touching the hollow of her throat, and yet again her scar. She closed her eyes tightly at that, and after he had gone back up to be face to face with her his hips pressed down firmly against hers his next thrust into her body. He hit the apex of her legs, and there was enough of a rubbing motion between them that she was struck almost violently with her climax. She was holding onto Castle, but her grip became desperate, and her nails raked over his skin as she was crying out, almost screaming his name as the unending wave of ecstasy that tinged her voice seemed to grow more and more intense.

Breathing roughly as he could feel her, Castle tried to keep his rhythm, but it became nearly impossible as he fell over the edge shortly after she had. He sped up only slightly luckily, but it was enough to set them both off again because of the angle of his hips and how deep the position they were in got him inside of her. He kissed her while they were still in the throes of their nearly simultaneous peak, but had to stop as he was breathing harder than before. He tried not to collapse onto her body once they had finally come back to themselves, but was finding it hard, especially when she moved his hands from where they were supporting his weight on the bed. He finally acquiesced and lay on top of her, telling himself it was only going to be briefly. Shuddering in pleasure as he could feel her breasts against his chest more fully then, he lifted his head and kissed her, almost chastely at first before she swiftly deepened the kiss.

When they pulled apart when breathing became a much needed necessity, Beckett felt him pressing his face to her neck, his breath starting to moisten her skin. She didn't say anything, only stroked the back of his head until he spoke.

"I'm not crushing you?" Castle asked as he pulled back to look at her.

"I would have let you know," Beckett told him simply. "You remembered Queens didn't you?"

"You could tell?" Castle said in reply instead. When she nodded he sighed slightly and moved so he could push himself off of her. But instead she tightened the grip of her legs around him, and held him in place. "Yeah, don't ask me why, I just did."

"Because you were going too quickly when we got into bed," Beckett said. "You have a hard time saying what you're thinking," she told him.

"I know, but I didn't want to risk waking up to you having a nightmare tonight," Castle said. She loosened her grip on him then, and he got off of her carefully before he went to the edge of the bed, sitting there for a moment before turning back to her and lying down with her. "I'm alright, if you're wondering, just wanted to keep you from having a flashback or something like I did."

"They're not contagious, but apparently arousal is," Beckett said teasingly, hoping to get a smile from him. She got a lot more than that, suddenly finding herself wrapped in his arms tightly as he kissed her deeply. She was startled at first, but when she got a hold of herself she responded, and couldn't really help feeling aroused as he sank his tongue into her mouth, curling it around hers before he pulled away slowly, dragging both their tongues out into the air. "I don't think you need to worry about me, I can very easily remember how you were in the shower if I find myself thinking about Queens."

"Great," Castle said, when she suddenly ran her fingers over his arm. "Oh, forgot about that," he said, seeing the bandage that was still there, though looking slightly worn from the shower earlier.

"Get dressed," Beckett said, pushing gently on his chest. "And I'll take care of that."

"Why get dressed?" Castle asked. "We don't… oh, work, right," he said, slumping visibly as he said that since she was looking at him. "And Julia tomorrow morning?"

"I don't think so, that sugar high and then waking up for water like she did tonight, she'll be out for a while tomorrow morning," Beckett said, taking her nightgown from her closet and slipping it over her bare skin as she knew he was watching her. "So I'm hoping tomorrow you'll be feeling up to… whatever we can come up with until we need to get ready."

"I think I will," Castle said, taking the pajamas she handed him. He grabbed her hand then, pulling her towards him and kissing her deeply. He was hoping to tempt her, wanting the chance to maybe make love at least one more time, but she only slid her hand from his grasp and headed to the bathroom. He threw on his pajama pants, not bothering with anything else, as he wanted to be ready for her the next morning on the off chance she woke up before he did. "So," he said, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her onto his lap once she had rejoined him. "Are you ready for Sunday? Will your dad be ready for Sunday?"

"It wasn't really that big a deal as I got older Castle, so he'll be fine," Beckett said as she cleaned the cut, making him hiss in response. "And so will I. I'm actually looking forward to it; it's been a very long time since I was last at an egg hunt." She smiled when she saw Castle's confused expression and said, "I'm eager for our daughter's sake."

"Right, did you ever have a chance to get her Easter dress? Because if you didn't, I could take you to the place I went to get Alexis' dresses," Castle said.

"Yeah, I've seen the pictures of her on Easter, they were a little frilly," Beckett said.

"That's what Easter is for, huge skirts for the girls, and for the boys really uncomfortable suits," Castle said, groaning at the end.

"I take it that's from experience?" Beckett laughed softly as she covered his cut then in a bandage.

"Yes and a lot of bad, bad memories of other girls at hunts laughing at the bow ties my mom made me wear," Castle said, shaking his head.

"I'll have to ask your mom to show me a picture," Beckett teased him, setting the things she'd used on the nightstand.

"No, no you're not, because then I'll have to ask your dad to see your pictures when you were a girl," Castle said warningly; though he was joking.

"I don't care about my pictures," Beckett said, standing in front of him. "So ask away."

"Man, I hate when you do that," Castle said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close against him, pressing his cheek to her stomach.

"Because it works?" Beckett asked, a wide smile on her face at that.

"It does," Castle sighed. He ran his hands over her body then, shaking once in pleasure as he could feel the heat of her skin through the silk. He then moved his head, tilting it to look up at her as she started to run her fingers through his hair. They stared at each other for a while before he suddenly stood, and gathered her up in his arms, kissing her deeply.

Beckett wasn't too surprised when Castle's kiss was abrupt, a little touched since he'd gotten her hint she needed some sleep for work. She kissed him on the lips before he took her hand and pulled her onto the bed where they sat together on their knees in front of each other. "Any reason?" she asked.

"Not really, just wanted a little more time, even if it's not repeating our performance earlier," Castle said simply. His eyes went down her body slowly, and as they were coming back up to her face he jumped as she grabbed his hands. "Wait, wait," he said, realizing she intended to have him cup her breasts when she brought them up. "Do you still want to sleep?" he asked her seriously.

"I need to," Beckett said with a slight sigh.

"Then let's just do this," Castle said. And with that he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him as they together pulled her nightgown up her legs.

Straddling his lap, though not sitting directly on it, Beckett wrapped her arms around Castle's neck saying, "It's hard."

"What?" Castle asked, tensing up suddenly.

"Not that," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "Well, that is, but what I was going to say it's hard to see you as wanting more than just sex."

"You're pretty amazing, and if you ever thought that was all I wanted then I'd be in trouble," Castle told her seriously.

"So it's not the only thing you want?" Beckett asked, leaning down to press her forehead against his.

"One of many things about you I need," Castle said as he ran his hands over her back before they kissed. He started it out passionate, and it stayed that way until they were finally pulling apart several kisses later, panting a little as they got their breath back. "Come on," he said, and he helped her under the covers before pulling them up over them both. "We promised Julia we'd be warm," he explained as his fiancée was looking at him with an amused expression.

"Of course," Beckett said simply. She turned onto her side as Castle lay behind her, and she pressed back against him saying, "You know the same goes for me right?"

"It better," Castle said in a mock stern tone of voice. He gave an exaggerated huff of air when she nudged him with her elbow, but laughed and leaned over as she turned her head to him. "I love you Kate," he murmured against her lips when they parted from their brief kiss.

"Hmm, love you Castle," Beckett replied before they settled back down under the covers. She waited until he had his arm wrapped around her front before she allowed herself to sleep, wavering shadows on the window from the rain almost hypnotizing her, lulling her into rest her body needed after being so intimate with her fiancé.

Staying awake a while longer, Castle finally slept himself, his thoughts somewhere between how he and Beckett had been together that night, and the shadowy moment just before he surrendered to his exhaustion. He slept deeply, keeping close to her through the night though he would never know that he had.

The sound of the silvery rain that was striking the windows joined the deep and even breathing of the two on the bed. The darkness enveloped them, who were oblivious to it, their minds already turning towards the morning and each other.


	13. Epilogue- Skies Of Blue Begin To Grey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Home (When Shadows Fall) by Harry Clarkson, Geoffrey Clarkson and Peter van Steeden, the version I've taken it from was sung by Paul McCartney from his album Kisses On the Bottom.

"Careful, the best way to fly is definitely straight, you don't want to suddenly dip down."

"Castle, Julia, come on."

"Should we stop?"

"Nah," Castle told the little girl before she giggled in response. "Okay, let's bring her in for a smooth landing." He took over the controls for his helicopter for her, and brought the toy slowly down on the coffee table in front of them. "Perfect job," he said, kissing her cheek.

"But that was you," Julia laughed.

"Are you two set?" Beckett asked, coming up behind them.

"Now yes, what can we help you with?" Castle asked as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"You need to get dressed, both of you," Beckett reminded him; as she had been trying for the last five minutes to stop them flying the helicopter. "Or we'll be late for the hunt."

"Oh, I wanna get dressed," Julia said eagerly as she slipped down to the floor from Castle's lap.

"Want to tell me what you'll be wearing?" he asked, grabbing her and pulling her to him before she could run around the couch to her mother.

"No," Julia said with a wide smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek and said, "Mommy said it's a surprise."

"Then go ahead," Castle said, watching her walk around. He took Beckett's hand on the back of the couch and held it in place so he could kiss the back of it. "No clues?"

"She wants to surprise you," Beckett said, smiling as Julia blushed deeply at that. "And get dressed or we're heading out without you."

"Right now," Castle promised before he watched the two head up the stairs. "Can I help you Mother?" he asked as she was sitting at the island in the kitchen.

"I'm just enjoying the show," Martha commented before turning her attention back to the paper.

"Are you coming with us?" Castle asked as he stood, setting the remote aside.

"I'll go, but I'm already dressed," Martha said. "Go, you'll disappoint Julia if you're not going."

Nodding, Castle headed into his room and then paused; remembering Beckett still needed to get changed. He decided to wait for her there; as he'd been interrupted in his plans to wake his fiancée up by Julia who'd seen the note he'd written, posing as the Easter Bunny. While he changed he smiled to himself, remembering reading the note for her and her excitement at hearing her eggs would be there by the time she got back from the hunt. Once dressed, Castle waited on the edge of the bed, expecting to hear Beckett opening the door at any minute. But when there was a knock on it he looked over at it in surprise. "Kate?"

"Are you ready, we're waiting for you," Beckett said, entering the room when she heard him. She fought back a smile as he stared at her, wide eyed for a moment and said, "Castle."

"Yeah, sorry," he said, jumping up from the bed.

"You said dresses for girls," Beckett said teasingly. "And you're not wearing a bow tie, but I'll let that pass," she told him as she brushed her fingers along his chin as she turned to leave. She wasn't too surprised when he pulled her to him and said, "I'm kidding, I thought since it's spring here finally and sunny for once, I could make a new purchase for today."

"Was Julia with you?" Castle asked, looking down at her sundress that had an abstract pattern of blues and grays, the dress itself white. He glanced down at her chest, since the dress had a v-neckline, but she was tilting his chin so he snapped his head up to look into her eyes.

"No, I picked this one out myself," Beckett explained. "But I'm guessing you like it? She does too."

"Yeah, you have great fashion sense," Castle commented, clearing his throat before he heard Julia suddenly calling to them.

"Let's go," Beckett said, smiling as the first part of her idea was working. Since the other was supposed to happen back inside the room much, much later, she turned her attention to Julia who was peeking her head out from around Martha. "Your surprise, come here sweetie," she said to her daughter.

"Let me see," Castle said, seeing that Julia looked to be a little shy.

"Come on kiddo," Martha encouraged her. "Or else you won't be able to find a single egg."

That seemed to reach Julia, and the little girl came out from around her, going to stand in front of Castle. "Surprise?" she said in a more questioning tone.

"Really surprised, you look very pretty sweetheart," Castle said, kneeling to hug the little girl to him. "Let me see the whole dress," he then said, standing and making her spin.

Julia giggled at his compliment, and looked down at her dress; the one that Alexis had bought her the month before in San Francisco. "It's so pretty, I told Mommy I should wear it today," she said as her mother helped her into a bolero styled knit sweater so they could leave.

"And you were right," Martha said, taking her hand once she was ready. "Spring is very much in the air. Even you've gone with lighter colors Richard."

"I felt like matching the sky," Castle said as Julia hurried over to him while they were leaving the loft. "But I better not jump up, because all you'll see is blue."

"I don't think so," Julia said, wrinkling her nose, though she was smiling.

"I'm not testing out that theory," Castle said. "So you like your mom's dress?" he asked her.

"Yeah, lots, do you?" Julia answered shortly before asking him.

"I do," Castle said. "So, what do you think the Easter bunny will bring?"

"I don't know," Julia said before they stopped at the elevators. "Mommy, what does he bring, I don't know."

"You'll see when we come back sweetie," Beckett promised her. She glanced at Castle, who was looking up at the numbered lights above the left doorway, and she nudged him in the side.

"Your dad will meet us there right?" he said in response to that, since he knew she was still wondering about the things they'd bought together to put into Julia's eggs.

"Same as yesterday," Beckett said, smiling down at her daughter when Julia squealed at the memory and jumped up and down a little. She couldn't help remember either as they stepped into the elevator car, and how much the little girl had enjoyed her first class.

* * *

_"Hello Julia," Jim Beckett said as he picked up his granddaughter. "You look ready to dance," he told her after kissing her cheek._

_"I'm ready Grandpapa," Julia said, kissing his cheek quickly. "Are you going to watch?"_

_"The whole class," Jim promised before he set her down. "How has she been?" he asked his daughter and Castle as they went inside the studio._

_"Barely able to sleep last night," Beckett said. "And this morning she wouldn't eat much."_

_"So she's nervous and excited," Castle said. "I'm hoping she doesn't do this every class."_

_"She'll get used to it," Martha commented, who had met them outside the building since her son had spent the night before at Beckett's._

_Inside the group saw a few other parents there, and a small group of girls and one boy waiting in the middle of the dance floor. After Julia had kissed her family, she hurried to her friend Celia, talking excitedly with her until two women came out from the back rooms._

_"Good morning," Amber Holsten said, her wife Yvette behind her._

_"Good morning Miss Amber," the girls and boy said, hurrying to stand in a line; as they'd done for ballet._

_"Relax," Amber said with a smile. "This class will not be as strict as your ballet classes; we're here to have fun dancing. Now, I see a lot of you have some of the attire that will help you as we go through the Ballroom and Latin dances. For those of you who don't know, I have a paper for your parents. Since I know all of you already, I'd like to introduce your other teacher, Miss Yvette, who is my wife."_

_Glancing at the other parents, Beckett was relieved for the teacher's sake when no one took their child and left at that news, and glanced at Julia, wondering what she would think of that._

_"She'll be here to help me teach, but also to teach us all Flamenco, which is a Latin dance," Amber said. "I have to admit I have never danced it, but we'll learn together alright?" She smiled when her students smiled and nodded and said, "Then let's begin with what are called extensions."_

_Watching as the woman turned on the TV that was hanging against the opposite wall, Castle leaned over to his fiancée and whispered, "She'll ace this," before she nudged his side to get him to be quiet._

_After showing the students a few clips from Dancing With the Stars and some pictures at dance competitions, Amber started the girls and boy to form the correct extensions. She had them reach out their hands and form them while she and Yvette walked around, correcting them here and there. When she reached Julia, she smiled at the little girl and said, "You and Celia are doing that very well. You've watched dancing before haven't you?"_

_"And I practiced this," Julia said, her cheeks flushed. "Is that cheating?"_

_"No, no, it means you really want to be a dancer," Amber said. "Alright, now we can learn our first Ballroom dance, which will be the Viennese Waltz. We'll start with the basic steps first, because you need to learn simple before you can begin choreographing more difficult steps."_

_"Don't we have to dance with a boy?" a little girl asked, raising her hand._

_"If you were dancing for a competition, yes, but since you're learning, we'll have to pair some of you girls together. And Miss Yvette and I will demonstrate the steps together for you too," Amber answered. "Okay, so the first thing you need to know is the beat of the music. Always very important to dance to the music. And that is what helps make a dancer great, if they know the music, if they feel it as they're dancing and let it move them."_

_"Can you show us?" Celia cried, the others agreeing with her._

_"Once we learn the first steps. So the Viennese Waltz goes on three beats, watch my feet, and Miss Yvette too," Amber said. "One… two… three," she counted off slowly so the students could see easily what they were doing._

_"Look at Julia," Beckett whispered to Castle._

_Glancing over at her, he wasn't too surprised to see that the little girl was moving her feet slightly in response as she watched the two women intently. He surreptitiously squeezed his fiancée's hand and shared a smile with her, knowing that they'd done the right thing bringing her to the class._

* * *

_"I think you did really wonderful kiddo, you were meant to dance," Martha told Julia as she held the little girl's hand after the class. "You picked up that Waltz quicker than anyone."_

_"It was fun," Julia said, smiling widely. "I can't wait for next week!"_

_"For now we need to dye some eggs," Castle said, having come out of the café he'd treated the others to for lunch and picking up the little girl. He swung her legs out to her cry of joy and settled her on his hip. "And you know, it's been a while since I last did that," he told her as they all went to the curb to get two cabs. "So I'll probably have to learn all over again with you."_

_"You did that with Alexis?" Julia asked._

_"I did, so the last time we dyed eggs was…" Castle began to say before he trailed off, pouting his lips. He smiled when Julia gave him a kiss as she giggled before he had to set her down so she could say goodbye to her grandfather who was heading home._

_"We'll see you tomorrow at the egg hunt at about eleven," Beckett said as she hugged him after Julia had. "Thanks again for coming today."_

_"I had to, I didn't want to miss your first day," Jim said, directing the last to Julia who was still hugging him. "I'll see you tomorrow, thank you for lunch."_

_"Bye," Castle said, since the thanks had been for him. "Okay, let's go, the eggs are calling my name, I can hear them even from here," he said as he picked up Julia and carried her under his arm to her laughter._

_"I always wondered if my son would grow up," Martha commented to Beckett as they waited for him to hail a cab._

_"He has," Beckett replied, smiling as she knew Martha was joking. "Enough," she then finished to the woman's laughter as they went to join Castle and Julia in the cab that had stopped at the curb._

_Back in his loft, Castle hurriedly prepared the pots needed for the dye that was in the box he'd bought with Julia the day before. "Alright, I think we're ready, we just need our eggs…" he told Julia as she was leaning against the island, watching him. "Ready?" he asked once he had the pot of hard boiled eggs._

_"Yeah," Julia said as he picked her up and set her on the counter._

_"You're sure it's okay she's there?" Beckett asked, coming over to help._

_"If I put her in a chair she's not going to be able to help out," Castle said, helping Julia put an egg on the holder. "So whatever color… I guess first is blue," he said to his fiancée as Julia immediately dipped her egg into the pot with blue water. He quickly put his hand over hers to help her lift it up and down before taking it out and placing it on a holder._

_"It's pretty," Julia said with a smile. "Now what?"_

_Beckett looked on as the two proceeded to attempt dying the eggs in more than one color, she had wanted to participate, but was enjoying watching and listening to them more. She would have stayed leaning against the counter across from them for a lot longer, if Castle hadn't stepped up to her. "And you just leave her?" she asked him as he pulled her hands to get her to stand upright._

_"She knows not to move," he said simply in response before leaning down and kissing her. He kept it short, since Julia was right behind them, and then pulled Beckett up to the counter. "So our daughter," Castle said, the words coming out of his mouth before he thought about it. "Wants you to dye some eggs."_

_Having heard the soft gasp her daughter had made, Beckett looked over at her and saw Julia looked a little startled. She smiled reassuringly at her, and then said, "I'm ready to start," to then try to distract her until they could talk about that; since Julia had never heard them refer to her as that so casually. "Tell me what to do sweetie."_

_"You get an egg," Julia then said quickly as she picked up one of them left in the pot. "And then you pick colors."_

_"What should I use?" Beckett asked._

_"What you want to, I won't tell you," Julia said, smiling._

_Relieved that his slip up hadn't been met with too bad of a shock, Castle leaned over and kissed Julia's temple before saying, "These came out pretty good."_

_"Yeah, will the Easter bunny like hiding them?" Julia asked._

_"I think so, I wonder if he's going to hide them really well," Castle then said._

_"What if he hides them too hard and I don't find them? He's gonna be mad," Julia said._

_"We'll help, but only if you absolutely need it," Beckett commented, taking her finished egg out of the red dye. "What do you think?" she asked, showing them her blue, green and red egg._

_"It's perfect," Julia said happily. "I can't wait to look for them tomorrow." She was quiet then as the three of them dyed more eggs before she finally said, "Mommy? Castle?"_

_"Yeah?" "Yes?" Castle and then Beckett responded at almost the same time._

_"Will you look with me tomorrow for eggs?" Julia asked._

_"Sure." "Of course," they said at the same time. They looked at each other before Castle made a gesture for his fiancée to go ahead and speak._

_"We'll help, but I don't think they'll make it hard to find the eggs," Beckett said simply. "Speaking of which, are we done?" she asked, seeing all the eggs were dyed and drying in the holder._

_"We are, someone decided to dye their arms too," he commented as Julia was looked at her multi-colored hands and arms, twisting them back and forth and giggling. He watched as Beckett leaned over to kiss her daughter's forehead before Julia pretended to reach up and touch her cheeks. He had a suddenly flash of inspiration, and grabbed his phone, taking a number of pictures of the two as they laughed together before pocketing it again. "Wash up," he told them then as he felt a sense of relief. "And I'll clean up here."_

_"Okay, come on sweetie," Beckett said, picking Julia up._

_"Wait," the little girl said, reaching over and touching Castle's arm. When he turned to look at her she pursed her lips slightly before he leaned over to share a kiss with her. "Thank you," she said a little shyly, her cheeks reddening._

_"You're welcome sweetheart, you did a great job," Castle told her._

_Inside the bathroom in Castle's room, Beckett kept an eye on her daughter as she was washing her hands first. "Are you okay?" she asked gently as she could tell the little girl was thinking about something._

_"Yeah, but… did Castle mean what he called me? Is it for real?" Julia asked softly. "'Cause you didn't get married."_

_"Well, it's not legal, so we can't tell everyone that Castle is your dad," Beckett said after thinking for a moment of how to answer. "But, to me and definitely to him, you are our daughter. Do you not like hearing him say that?"_

_"No, I liked it Mommy," Julia said, hesitating slightly._

_"Then what's wrong sweetie?" Beckett asked, telling by the way Julia was biting on her lower lip that she was struggling with something she wanted to say._

_"It's taking too long for you and Castle to get married," Julia burst out. She then ducked her head, thinking her mother would be angry she'd said that. "I'm sorry," she said quickly._

_"You have nothing to be sorry for," Beckett said, unaware that Castle was close enough to hear them, but not enough to be seen by Julia who was facing the door. She then sighed and said, "We haven't been engaged for too long though sweetie, not even four months. But I should tell you a secret; I really wish we could talk about it."_

_"Why not?" Julia asked as her mother got the last of the dye off her arms and began to dry her off._

_"It's a little complicated sweetie, but we do want to get married, and we'll let you know the second we set a date and what we'll do to get ready for it," Beckett said. "I'm guessing you want to be involved right?"_

_"Yes please," Julia said seriously. But she broke out into a smile when her mother lightly laughed at that, and shared a kiss with her. "Can I be a flower girl?"_

_"We'll see what we do for the ceremony," Beckett said, sharing a kiss with her daughter. "But if we do need a flower girl, I'm sure there's not going to be any other choice but you."_

_Turning to leave then before his fiancée and Julia could find him there listening in, Castle decided that he and Beckett needed to speak, and badly. As he sat down on the couch to wait for them to join him, he decided he knew when he could do it, and as he could hear his mother behind him exclaiming over the eggs left to dry in the kitchen, he knew how he could do it, smiling at Julia as she ran up to him for a hug._

* * *

"Grandpapa!" Julia squealed when she saw Jim standing on the sidewalk outside the park. She ran up to him and once he was holding her, hugged him tightly around the neck. "Happy Easter."

"Happy Easter Julia," Jim said, kissing her cheek. "Are you ready to look for eggs?"

"Yeah, where do I go?" she asked excitedly.

"This way," Castle said, gesturing down the path. He took Julia's hand as her grandfather set her down, and led the way to where other kids were gathered with their parents and families. Once there was a quick speech, the children were allowed to go through the park, and he was quick to step after the little girl when he felt a hand grab his arm. "What?" he asked, turning to his fiancée.

"You might want to calm down, don't run after her," Beckett said simply as she slid her hand into his arm and curled it up around the upper arm.

"That might scare her?" Castle asked as he walked with her after Julia.

"No, you might trip and fall," Beckett said in an offhand tone of voice. "And ruin my plans for tonight," she said under her breath.

"What?" Castle asked.

"Get your phone, I want you to film her when she finds her first egg," Beckett said instead, ignoring his question.

Glancing sidelong at her as he'd heard her easily, Castle decided not to push on that, and instead took his phone from his pocket. He set up the video app and pressed play as he saw Julia had gone to the end of a slide in the playground, picking up the yellow egg there.

"Mommy, look!" Julia cried as she waved it back and forth in her hand.

"We see sweetie, you did a great job," Beckett said.

"Let go," Castle suddenly whispered to her.

Without questioning it, Beckett immediately released his arm, and saw that Julia's dance teacher was walking to them with her wife and father. "Miss-" she started to say.

"Just Amber," the woman said with a smile. "We're not stalking you; we're actually finishing buying an apartment across the street at The Robinson."

"That's a great building. Good lofts," Castle said. "I almost got one there myself."

"For the time being my father is moving in with us…" Amber began, smiling as Julia was running to them.

"Hi Miss Amber," the little girl said, slightly shyly as she hugged her mother, her Easter basket still in hand. "I practiced," she said.

"That's great to hear," Amber said. "You know Miss Yvette, and this is my dad. I told them about you being the hardest working dancer in the ballet class."

Beckett smiled, since she knew it wasn't so much a compliment, but the truth, and said, "What do you say sweetie?" to her daughter gently.

"Thank you," Julia whispered though she was smiling.

"Costa?" a startled Jim said behind the group. Everyone turned to the man; including Amber's father who'd seen the reactions on the others' faces. "It is you, how are you?" he said, talking very slowly as he went to shake the man's hand.

Beckett glanced at Castle, seeing he was surprised too, and then watched as her dad and Costa had a conversation using the pad of paper the man had. "I guess they know each other," she said as she and her fiancé then had to go after Julia who hurried to find more eggs.

"They did, you still wanted to talk?" Castle asked since Amber was behind them.

"How are you doing?" Beckett then asked since he'd turned to follow Julia.

"I'm fine, I just wanted to make sure Julia was okay," Amber said. "She does want to dance doesn't she?"

"She does, but she's a little self conscious, so compliments bring out that reaction in her," Beckett explained. "But she appreciated what you said I know. So you're moving into a new place."

"Yeah, with Maman's inheritance and the income we'll make from the classes we'll be alright. Plus Yvette's been hired by a Flamenco dance troupe," Amber said.

"That's getting pretty popular now," Castle said, coming back to them with Julia. "How goes the renaming process?"

"Last I heard from the school they were going to do it," Amber said with a smile. "So the studio will now be called the Madame Démodé Dance Studio, the least I could do for her."

"She'd be proud," Beckett said before the woman's wife called to her. "Enjoy your Easter."

"Thank you, I hope you do too, and I'll see you tomorrow after school for ballet Julia," Amber said before she left.

"Bye," Julia said. "She doesn't look sad."

"She is inside I'm sure," Beckett told her. "So tell me what you found sweetie."

Walking back to his mother and Beckett's dad who were sitting on a bench by the playground, Castle said, "So you know him."

"Before he went bankrupt, Costa was pretty well known," Jim said, taking Julia on his lap as she ran to him. "Everyone knew that while he couldn't speak he was still the powerhouse behind the firm, so he was well respected. He wants to get back into law though; we were talking about that before they left."

"Is there a place at your firm?" Beckett asked.

"I'm not sure, I gave him the address, and he'll be by tomorrow he said," Jim replied. "We'll have to see. So are you finished looking for eggs?" he asked his granddaughter.

"No, I wanna find some more," Julia said earnestly, shaking one egg.

"Well, I think I need to head back to the apartment. Silly me," Martha said as Julia looked at her. "I forgot I have a very important phone call that's going to come in, so I need to return. I'm sorry kiddo, but I want to see all the eggs you find once you come back."

"Kay," Julia said as she was set down on the ground by her grandfather. "You go too Grandpapa?"

"I'll be at Castle's though, I was in charge of getting dessert and I still need to get it," Jim said before Julia nodded and went back down the path with her mother and Castle. "I think we convinced her," he commented to Martha.

"Thank goodness. Now let's hurry, because Richard was so specific about where to hide all her eggs he actually sent me a folder over the phone with pictures of where they're supposed to go," she replied, rolling her eyes slightly. "But you have to admire his effort."

"He did that with Alexis?" Jim asked as they were leaving the park.

"In a way, but he seems to be trying to prove to… one of them, still, that he'll be a good father," Martha explained.

"Which he's doing pretty well at I think, I can't really complain," Jim said in response before they crossed to the bakery down the street from the loft.

Back in the park, Castle had picked Julia up so she could get another egg in a tree, and he set her down so she could search in the bushes they were near. "A little weird," he commented as he waited with Beckett.

"That we met them here?" she asked. "Who knows, maybe they are stalking us." She smiled when Castle merely looked at her, and she squeezed his arm before walking after Julia who was running down the length of the bushes. "Okay sweetie," she said when the little girl had gotten another egg. "I think that's enough, you got enough to cover the bottom of your basket."

"Kay, can I open them now?" Julia asked, taking the basket off her arm.

"Why don't we wait until we're back at the loft? That way your grandfather and my mom can see what you got," Castle said quickly. When Julia nodded he took her basket so Beckett could carry her, and they walked back to his building.

Inside his loft, Martha was looking at the screen of her phone and nodded saying, "I believe that's all of them, and I will tell my son that next year he and Kate need to be doing this on their own."

"I'll add my agreement to that. But Julia will love this I'm sure," Jim said as Martha nodded in concurrence. Their heads both turned to the door as they could hear Castle putting his key in the lock, and they went to the kitchen where there were glasses of wine and juice for them to have with lunch. "She might read me," he commented. "She's very perceptive."

"Oh she is, but you're lucky Richard planned out that trail of eggs leading up to that note and basket," Martha commented.

"Katie's been worried he might spoil her," Jim was able to comment. "But since she's never celebrated this before we're both in agreement he's acting like a father would…" he couldn't continue, as the door opened then; knowing Castle had delayed to give them time if they'd needed it.

"Hello darling, how was it?" Martha asked, having gone quickly to stand in front of the little girl before she could see the more visible eggs.

"Fun! Lots of eggs and I found a lot," Julia giggled as Castle looked at her with a confused look on his face at the way she'd worded that. "See?"

"I see, well, your grandfather and I came back at the same time, and look what we found," Martha said, stepping aside.

"Any chance to perform," Castle said to Beckett jokingly before she pushed on his arm.

Julia gasped when she saw the eggs, and ran to pick them up before picking up the note. "Do I read it?" she asked as her mother and Castle walked up to her.

"Go ahead," Beckett urged her.

" _Julia_ ," the little girl read slowly. " _I h-hid the eg-eggs for you, ask your mommy and Castle to h-help. En_ … _en_ … what's this?" she asked Castle as he was leaning down next to her.

"Enjoy," he said slowly. "Sound it out okay?"

"E-n-joy," Julia said before he nodded to her. " _Enjoy your pre-pres-presents and say hi to Alexis. The E-a-Easter, Easter Bunny._ Ohh, he knows Alexis," she said, looking up at her mother and Castle with wide eyes. "Can we look now?" she asked excitedly as she set the note back on the table.

"Go ahead," Beckett said, looking at Castle; as he'd written the note.

"Let me empty your basket," he said quickly. "So you have room for the other eggs." When he handed it back to Julia, she took his hand instead of the basket, and led him over to his office where she took an egg that was on his desk. He glanced back at Beckett, seeing that she was fighting a smile. He made a face at her before he watched as Julia looked through the shelves under the TV, finding the eggs he'd had his mother and Beckett's dad set there. There were a mix of the eggs they'd dyed the day before, and plastic ones with items he and Beckett had bought.

"Look, this one is heavy," Julia said, shaking it.

"No cheating," Castle said teasingly as he tickled her sides to her sharp giggle. He held out the basket so she could set the egg inside, and then followed her out to the kitchen. "How did I get to be the one holding this?" he asked Beckett as she came up behind them.

"She wants you to," she replied simply, smiling a little. "Honestly, you need to help her."

"Right," Castle said, seeing she was passing by a cabinet where one was. He steered her back to it and said, "I think we should check each one okay? Who knows how many eggs are around here that he left."

Following them, Beckett helped Julia when she could, but she had left hiding the eggs to Castle, as she wanted him to have that, since he'd celebrated Easter with Alexis sooner than she'd last celebrated it as a kid. When her daughter had found what she thought was the last egg, she looked on as Castle counted hurriedly, and then let Julia go to the couch where her dad and his mother were sitting. "That's all of them?" she asked him in a low tone as he took off his jacket.

"It is," Castle said. "She did pretty well."

"She did. Come on," Beckett said, taking his hand.

"But lunch…" Castle started to say, turning back to the fridge.

"The sandwiches aren't going anywhere," Beckett said simply as she led him over to join the others as Julia was starting to open her plastic eggs.

"That would be creepy if they did," Castle said before his fiancée sat down, giving him a look. He joined her in the armchair next to her quickly, watching Julia as she pulled out a small candy out of an egg from the park.

* * *

"Easter dinners were never really like this," Beckett was saying as she watched Castle set the ham in the middle of the table. "For us."

"They weren't really for us either," he told her. "But we'd always have ham, that was a tradition Mother's family would do; she continued it with me and Alexis."

"And we'll do this every year," Beckett stated.

"Every year," Castle said. "Well, not the egg hunts, once she gets older then we should probably stop."

"Probably," Beckett said, shaking her head with a slight smile. She turned to the others who were playing with Julia's game of jacks she'd gotten, and her smile grew a little wider seeing her dad trying to help his granddaughter pick up more than one of the metal shapes. "Are you hungry sweetie?" she asked, walking over to them.

"Yeah, are we having dinner?" Julia asked, looking up.

Holding out her hand, Beckett took Julia into Castle's bathroom and helped her wash her hands saying, "I think you had a fun time today didn't you?"

"Lots and lots," Julia said happily. "But do I have to go to school tomorrow?"

"You do," Beckett said simply. "But remember, after is your first ballet class with Miss Amber."

Julia smiled widely in excitement at that, but then frowned, looking a little troubled as her mother washed her hands.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked her daughter.

"Is it bad that I'm happy to learn from Miss Amber?" Julia asked.

"I don't think so," a voice said from the doorway. Castle smiled slightly as the two looked at him and he stepped inside, picking the little girl up. "I think," he said as he held his arm out to Beckett so she'd walk with him. "That you should keep learning how to dance, and your dance studio is going to be named after Madame Claude, so you'll be honoring her memory doing that."

"Even dancing Ballroom?" Julia said.

"Even that," Beckett said as they walked out of his bedroom and to the table. She glanced at her fiancé as his hand slid down to the small of her back, and she was quickly reminded of her plans. But they rejoined his mother and her dad, so she pushed that away, concerning herself more with the meal.

"I'll have to spend Thanksgiving and Easters here," Jim said when they were in the middle of dinner.

"I hope you do," Beckett said. "Eat your ham sweetie," she told her daughter, who was focusing more on her mashed Japanese yams since they had marshmallows on them. "Since we'll be here of course."

"Of course," Jim said. He was going to speak again, intending to ask about their wedding; already knowing the two couldn't get married yet; but wanting to know if they had at least thought about it. But he held off, watching his daughter and her fiancé both trying to get Julia to eat her other food. He smiled for a brief moment at that, and then said, "You haven't told me yet, Julia," to get her attention. When she was looking at him; Castle feeding her broccoli from her plate; he chuckled slightly at the look his granddaughter shot Castle at that; and waited for her to finish chewing before he said, "You didn't tell me about school since I picked you up on Wednesday."

Julia's attention was focused on telling her grandfather about her class, so much so that her mother and Castle were able to get her to eat the rest of the food on her plate. They didn't feed her outright, instead picking things up with her fork before handing the utensil to her. When she finished she looked at her mother and asked, "Can we have dessert?"

"Actually," Castle said. "I think for our cake we're going to have, we need some coffee, and I'm craving the café down the street. You too didn't you say?"

Looking at him for a moment, Beckett then let a little smile spread across her face and said, "I did, you want to walk with us Julia?"

"Kay, do we go now?" the little girl asked, eager to get to walk outside.

"I just need to-" Castle started to say as he turned on the faucet.

"Get your coat and then go," Martha said, turning off the water. "Go, you cooked Richard, you get tonight off."

Squeezing his mother's hand in thanks, Castle was about to leave when she stopped him. "What?" he asked, glancing quickly over to Beckett who was getting her coat with Julia.

"Stop staring at your fiancée's legs long enough for you to watch where you're going while you're out walking," Martha said in a low enough tone for only him to hear. At the look her son gave her she replied with, "What? I could see you all day since we left for the egg hunt. Now go."

"You might need this," Jim said, handing his daughter the large umbrella Castle had in the front closet.

"It's raining again?" Beckett asked, glancing to the windows and seeing the rain streaking down it.

"I hope you'll be able to stay dry," Martha said, joining them at the door.

"We will," Castle said, finishing buttoning his coat. He took Julia's hand and followed Beckett out the door. While they were walking down the hall he took his fiancée's hand, unaware that his mother and her dad were watching as Beckett instead slipped her hand into his arm, holding the upper part tightly.

* * *

"Hey Dad," Alexis said with a smile as her father appeared on the screen of the TV in Diana's room.

"Hey," Castle said, smiling at his daughter. "How was Easter?"

"Pretty fun. Hi Julia, I see you're wearing the dress I got you," Alexis said, seeing the little girl as she entered her dad's office with Beckett. "Hey Beckett."

"Hello Alexis," she said to Castle's daughter before sitting in one of the armchairs.

"Thank you for my dress," Julia said then, having been waving to the screen. "It's very pretty."

"I know, I'm glad I got it for you. How was it today?" Alexis asked.

"Fun!" Julia said before she eagerly told Alexis what she'd done since the egg hunt. "And I got a pretty coloring book of Easter eggs in another basket; some are from Russia, the one with jewelry that I like."

"It sounds like you had a great time," Alexis said with another smile.

"Yeah, did you find eggs too?" Julia asked.

"Sort of, I went with Diana and her parents to meet May and Luke with their daughters to look for eggs at Golden Gate Park. And it was a beautiful day, so it was a lot of fun," Alexis said.

"How's May?" Castle asked, knowing Beckett was going to ask that at some point.

"She's doing well; apparently the baby is kicking now. But May's pretty happy," Alexis said. "She said if I talked to you Beckett, to tell you she'll call you this coming weekend."

"Great, I can catch up with her myself," she said. "I'll take Julia now Alexis, unless you had anything else to tell her?"

"Are you still practicing?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, I practiced to show my grandpapa before he went home," Julia said.

"Okay, we'll leave you two to talk," Beckett said. "But is it alright if I ask a favor of your dad?" When Alexis nodded, looking confused, she said, "You need to give her a bath tonight. And she also wants you to," she finished with as Julia was tugging on her skirt to remind her to say the latter.

"Sure, I don't think we have too much to catch up with, so I'll be out as soon as I can," Castle said. He watched the two leave his office and then turned back to Alexis. "So anything else today?" he asked, wondering why she was smiling the way she was.

"No, just, when did you start giving her a bath?" Alexis asked, not surprised her father smiled before he began to explain.

Out in the main room, Beckett was undoing the braids in her daughter's hair that had been running along the side of her head, and combed through the reddish brown locks with her fingers. "So now you had a good day sweetie," she said. She smiled when Julia nodded, and said, "As soon as you have that bath you're going straight to bed."

Sighing, Julia then said, "I wish we had another day so I could be with you and Castle, we could go to the big park."

Smiling a little wider at her daughter's name for Central Park, Beckett said, "Maybe this weekend we can go."

"We should, we haven't gone for a while have we?" Castle said. "My mom?" he asked.

"In her room, it's why she said goodnight. Is Alexis going to call her?" Beckett asked. At his nod, she waited for him to pick Julia up, and they went up to Alexis' room to get Julia ready for her bath.

That night Castle had to wash Julia's hair once more, but he was relieved when she didn't seem to have a problem with him doing that again. And also that he hadn't messed up and accidentally gotten shampoo in her eyes. He and Beckett both got her dried and dressed together since Julia was almost falling asleep in the tub. Once the little girl was on the bed he hugged her tightly before they shared a kiss and he told her, "Sweet dreams Julia, I love you."

Nodding, yawning widely at the same time, Julia managed to open her eyes as her mother sat next to her and she hugged her as tightly as she could. "I love you Mommy," she sighed.

Kissing her, Beckett laid Julia down and tucked her in saying, "I love you too sweetie, sweet dreams." She wasn't surprised when her daughter fell asleep almost as soon as she'd spoken, and she smiled a little, knowing the day had been a great one for Julia, which was a relief. She followed Castle to the doorway where they watched her for a moment, and she closed the door behind them after he'd closed the lights. "I feel like some coffee," she told him once they were downstairs. "Which I'll-"

"I've got it," Castle interrupted her. "Sit," he said.

"So I was thinking about what you asked me on Friday," Beckett commented as she stayed at the island in the kitchen instead of going to the couch as she knew he wanted her to do.

"Yes… refresh my memory?" Castle asked, turning to her as the machine was starting to brew.

"Memorial Day weekend," Beckett said simply.

"Oh, right, did you decide?" Castle asked. "And remember, I just mentioned the fact I'm going to be alone this year to state a fact, not because I was trying to coerce-"

"You didn't," Beckett said simply, covering his mouth with her hand. "I think we should go, because if we don't, I'd have to find someone to watch Julia."

"Mrs. Parker?" Castle asked.

"She's going to see her sister in Palm Beach… I may have suggested it was the perfect time to see family…" Beckett said, smiling as he looked at her in confusion.

"You got that Monday off," Castle said in realization then.

"I did, when I told Gates that I wouldn't have someone to watch my daughter that day, she said I didn't need to worry about that, I was getting the day off anyways," Beckett said. "So we're free to go with you to the Hamptons."

"Great, when will we tell Julia?" Castle said, turning back to the coffee to pour it.

"Tomorrow, I figure it'll be good news for a Monday," Beckett replied. "And you didn't coerce me by telling me you'd be alone by the way," she told him as she took the mug he handed her and they went to the couch. She sat down, but was surprised when he set his mug down and headed to his office. "What is it?" she asked, watching him go.

Castle didn't say a word until he was walking back to her, something in his hand. He kept his gaze on her as he set down a magazine, wanting to see her reaction.

When she saw the cover, Beckett bit her lower lip for a moment, and set down her mug of coffee next to the magazine. "So," she began. "You're subscribing to wedding magazines now," trying to joke as she wasn't sure what his intention was with that.

"Actually," Castle said, trying to ease her tension he could easily see in the way she sat. "I found this on my bed Friday morning before I went to your place to have breakfast with you and Julia. Placed smack dab in the middle of my pillow with a lot more care than I thought my mother would execute."

"She's not exactly… subtle," Beckett said, relieved at his tone.

"No, but, I should tell you that I heard you and Julia talking in the bathroom yesterday while you were washing her hands and arms," Castle said, sitting next to her and facing her.

"You're horrible," Beckett said, though she had a wide smile on her face. "But at least she wants us to get married."

"And you too, judging from the fact you had this same magazine at your place," Castle said. "I saw it Thursday morning," he explained. "I swear I wasn't snooping." When Beckett looked over at him with one eyebrow raised questioningly, he held up his hands and said, "You had it in that pile of magazines; I was going to read one and was a little shocked when I saw it. But I'd like to talk to you about that Kate, our wedding." He stood then and held his hand out to hers until she took it; leading her to his office so they could have some privacy should his mother come down at some point.

Neither of them saw that Martha was standing at the top of the stairs, having gone to Alexis' room to check in on Julia as she did once in a while. She had heard their conversation and she smiled at the fact that her hint had worked. She went back into her room, wondering though what the two could really plan.

"So you want to talk about this," Beckett began as she sat on one of the armchairs, Castle next to her.

"I'd like to," he replied. "But if you want to wait-"

"No, I want to; I would love to plan but…" Beckett started to say before hesitating slightly. "We can't really set anything up for certain."

"I know, but I'm," Castle started to say before he paused and thought for a moment. "I don't want to get married this second," he explained to her. "But I think we both want to at the very least talk about it. And you know we wouldn't have to do anything exactly at the moment, we can talk about a venue, flowers I guess you need to plan those…"

"You weren't much involved in your first two weddings were you?" Beckett commented.

"They weren't really… that elaborate, or thought out in detail. In both cases they were pretty quickly done," Castle said.

"We might, if we plan to get married as soon as we know what we'll be doing after the election," Beckett said.

"That's true, but that's partially why I'd like to talk about it now," Castle said. "So at least it's planned enough it isn't something we're rushing into."

"Okay," Beckett said. "What do you want to talk about first?"

"We can't set a date, but we can set a month at the very least," Castle replied. "July is too close, but August and September would be nice," he watched her, wondering what she would say in response.

"August, Julia and Alexis won't be in school," Beckett said. "And as for the ceremony, I think a judge is the best thing we can do."

"I was thinking about that, Julia could be our ring bearer," Castle suggested, suddenly feeling a little surreal. He'd imagined the conversation in his mind a number of times, but actually having it he couldn't believe that Beckett wanted to talk about it. He couldn't help it, starting to feel a little excited though August was still four months away.

"Slash flower girl, you heard her asking me, she seems to have her heart set on that," Beckett said with a smile.  
"Okay, so should we talk about the venue?" Castle asked. "That might be a little harder to do though; we can't book anything in advance."

"Of course not, unless, we do it somewhere we know the owner or person in charge who would let us have the wedding without much warning beforehand," Beckett said. She saw Castle was trying to think of places and she quickly said, "I'm talking about here Castle."

"Here?" he said in surprise. "Wait, you want-"

"When it gets out that you and I have been in this secret relationship, and also that we're getting married and you're adopting Julia, the press is going to go crazy," Beckett said.

"You think they'd want to get pictures," Castle said. He then nodded and said, "Here would be better for that, but are you sure? You never thought about getting married in a church or… Central Park?"

"You're thinking I want a huge wedding, over a hundred guests, that kind of thing?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she said, "That's something you think of when you're a little girl. And I know some women still want that, but as I grew up and when I thought about getting married, it became more important who would be my future husband. The ceremony is what concerns me most really; the actual getting married part of it; and… like I said, I don't want the paparazzi coming in and scaring our daughter. Plus, I want a more private wedding, simple will be much better."

"So you'll be getting a really great dress right?" Castle asked. When she looked at him he said, "And the reception here too?"

"If you don't-" Beckett began.

"I like the idea, and if we do it at the windows over there in the morning, we'll have great light," Castle said, glancing over at them. "I'm talking about the photographer we hire," he explained when she shook her head with a smile. "But I agree, let's get married here, and, we can finish with the adoption papers in here," he said.

"Good, we're in agreement," Beckett said shortly. "Anything else?"

"Flowers?" Castle asked. "Cake?"

"You want to design the cake now?" Beckett asked.

"Then how about flowers?" Castle suggested. "Roses? Or what about-"

"White orchids," he and Beckett said at the same time.

"And? I'm not making your bouquet. I may be metrosexual as you keep saying but I don't go out and pick flowers… well, I have another suggestion, but you can go first," Castle said when she didn't continue after they'd spoken at the same time.

"Delphinium," Beckett said simply. She smiled when Castle didn't seem to recognize the name, so she got her phone and pulled up some pictures of the flower, going to sit on his lap instead of handing it to him.

"That'll go great with my other suggestion," Castle said, taking the phone and searching it, showed her some pictures.

"Bells of Ireland, pretty," Beckett said.

"Okay, so we've got three flowers," Castle said. "We seem to be repeating the number a lot."

"Well, it's how our family started, you, me and Julia, when we were in the Hamptons the first time; when we really started becoming a family. I'm guessing that's why you bought this ring," Beckett said as she held up her hand; her ring he'd placed on her finger after they'd returned from the egg hunt earlier.

"Pretty much," Castle said. "So we have the flowers, where it's going to be, and a month, I think that's pretty good so far ahead."

"What about our honeymoon," Beckett suggested.

"Oh, that, I'm wondering if you might let me take care of that," Castle said.

"You mean where we go?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah," Castle answered, not saying anything else though she was watching him expectantly.

"Alright, I guess, I can trust you to take us somewhere that might be romantic. And I'm also trusting you to take me at least to somewhere I've never been before. So not San Francisco," Beckett said, smiling when Castle nodded his head in response.

"That would be pretty romantic though; to go there," he said.

"I know, but I'd like to go somewhere new," Beckett said. "And also somewhere you'd like to go too."

"What if it was somewhere I've been to before?" Castle asked.

"Alone? Sure, if you don't mind sharing the place with me," Beckett said.

"No, actually," Castle said, unaware that his enthusiasm was seeping into his tone of voice. "I have an idea already of where to go, and it's somewhere I'd like to share with you."

"That's so sweet," Beckett said, smiling at how he was looking so excited.

"That's the idea, and the fact that's it going to be our honey-" Castle started to say suggestively before she slapped him on the shoulder. He laughed and said, "What about your dress?"

"My dress is going to be chosen by me," Beckett said simply, knowing he wasn't asking to help her pick it out.

"Not that," Castle said in mock exasperation. "When can I see it? I ask because I know you have to have some idea of what you want."

"You will see it when we get married, no sooner, especially since I don't have it now," Beckett said, cupping his cheeks. She leaned down and brushed her lips against his before she paused.

"What?" Castle asked, wondering at the look on her face.

"Are we going to have some kind of color or colors for the wedding?" Beckett asked.

"Well…" Castle started to say before he looked at her and stopped. "This," he said, pointing to her pendant.

"Julia will be happy," Beckett said with a smile as she touched her blue aquamarine, having had the same color in mind. "I almost forgot we need to get a dress for her and Alexis; I want her to hold my bouquet if she doesn't mind, and help Julia too."

"Good idea, we should talk to Alexis though, and our parents, let them know what we're planning on," Castle said, touched she wanted his daughter to be part of the ceremony too.

"And Julia, but we'll do that starting this week. So we're done?" she then asked.

"With that, I have something I wanted to watch," Castle said, his statement more of a question.

"Alright, but I'm not planning on moving," Beckett said, watching as he reached over for the remote for the TV.

"Believe me, I'm not either," Castle said. "Unless it's in that direction," he said, gesturing towards his room. He laughed slightly when she pushed his shoulder, and he got the episode of the show he'd wanted to see for a long time set up.

" _Air Crash Investigation_ again?" Beckett asked with a sigh. "Wait, _Qantas 32: Titanic in the Sky_? Seriously?"

"I know, but I looked at the summary, and then looked at the flight, no one gets killed, so it's a more positive episode," Castle reassured her, waiting to see if she would make him put something else on.

"Go ahead," Beckett said, smiling as she realized why he wasn't playing the episode. She leaned against him as the episode began, and found out quickly why he'd wanted to see it, since it was about an A380. She was quiet through the episode until it was finished, and said, "So you're planning on getting a model of a Qantas?"

"I was thinking about it. Pretty amazing that didn't turn out worse," Castle commented. "But see, happy endings all around. Except for them having to pay for the damage of course."

"Of course," Beckett said. She took the remote from him, and turned off the TV before she made him turn his head to her.

Castle wasn't surprised by the kiss, but was when she seemed to be incredibly eager, making him groan as he wrapped his arms around her tightly in response. He wasn't sure how long that kiss lasted, or the second; or even the third; but when she finally pulled away, he was breathing hard and shuddered as she merely got up and walked away. He almost scrambled to stand, but then simply walked after her, luckily his stride a little longer and faster than hers to allow him to catch up with her.

Beckett smiled, almost smirked, when Castle took hold of her arm, but when he suddenly rushed her into his room she had to recover as he stopped her to close and lock all the doors leading inside. Her heart was pounding as she waited for him in front of his dresser, and bit her lower lip at the look in his eyes as he walked up to her. "So-" she started to say, ready to begin her plan; though she was starting to wonder if it was going to last.

As he stepped closer to her, Castle didn't stop, making his fiancée walk back fully into the dresser, and he saw the smile on her face disappear quickly. He saw her expression of surprise and uncertainty, knowing she was trying to guess what he was going to do exactly. He leaned down and kissed her gently, wanting to throw her off until he was ready. When she wrapped her arms around his neck a second later, he had his cue and moved.

Gasping and breaking off their kiss as she was suddenly pushed back into the drawers, Beckett looked up at Castle, seeing his eyes were darkened, and she wasn't sure what was reacting more; her heart or her body as every inch of her skin seemed to become a lot more sensitive. She didn't like feeling so unsure and taken aback, so she leaned up, nipping at his chin before he pressed his groin against hers. When he proceeded to jerk against her slightly, she cried out once and snapped her teeth together to keep that from happening again.

"So you can feel that," Castle found himself nearly growling as he wanted her to understand. "You've been doing that all day you know that right?"

"I know… I was hoping," Beckett started to say before trailing off as his hands were suddenly drifting down the front of her body. "I was going to do… I had ideas and plans but… I don't think I want to stick to them now."

"Then we'll figure out what we'll do as we go," Castle said. "I was always great at improv," he told her before he grabbed her hips and moved her in time with him as he kissed her neck at the same time.

Taking his kiss then, Beckett didn't stop moving, but she didn't want to stay where they were. So when they pulled apart to breathe, she said, "Wait, stop Castle…" a little shocked when he did so immediately. "How-" she began to say.

"Don't ask," Castle said quickly. "What is it? Too much?"

"No, that was nice," Beckett said, pronouncing the word nice a little slowly. "But, I don't know that I really want you to take me right here."

Looking back at the dresser behind her, Castle touched one of the drawer pulls and nodded saying, "You're absolutely right." He then pulled her a little roughly to the armchair next to her side of the bed where he made her turn around once he had stopped them.

"You-" Beckett started to say. But he was almost tearing open the zipper on her dress, and pulling it down so hard her straps went down a little on her shoulders. "Castle," she started to say, wanting to stop him.

"I was having a hard time today," he said in response to her tone of voice. "Seeing you in this and I couldn't stop staring at you."

"My legs," Beckett gasped a little as she remained still as he pulled her dress down to her waist and then pulled her roughly against him. "You couldn't stop staring at my legs."

"Exactly," Castle said, reaching under her skirt. He felt her tense up for a second when he grabbed the only piece of clothing she was wearing underneath the dress. "You noticed?" he then asked as his mind cleared enough to realize what she'd said.

"How could I n-not! If you're going to-" Beckett cried out when he was pulling her over to the armchair. A quick jerk of his hands and she was almost completely naked under her sundress; a quick flick of her right leg and she was. She had a little time to recover from that as he pulled her onto his lap, and when he slammed her down on him she had to wonder when he'd had time to open his trousers. But the question was lost as he proceeded to move, reaching up around her to her breasts as she was facing away from him. The first touch of his hands on her and she was spurred to move, coming back to herself and shaking off the daze at how fast he'd been moving them. She matched his rhythm and was relieved they'd had their little moment at the dresser as he was going fast.

"I told you I had a hard time today," Castle said as his hands were covering both of her breasts before squeezing them tightly. He felt her back arch, which made her tighter around him, and he groaned her name once before he slid his hands down her body. For a while he stayed at her stomach, feeling the muscles under her skin tensing and relaxing, the pattern following her pace. He shuddered at that, and moved faster as he detoured to hold her hips to facilitate the change in his speed. He heard her gasping and a few quick moans escaping her mouth in front of him, and he began to press kisses over her back, flicking his tongue out here and there. He was groaning again, as she was even with him very shortly after, and the friction between them was intense though he wasn't outright fucking her. He suddenly wanted to, but decided to leave that up to her. To distract himself, he let go of her waist, and put his hands on her knees.

Looking down at them, Beckett watched, her breath coming out in pants as his hands slid up her thighs roughly. When he reached the hem of her dress he pulled her legs slightly more apart, and his right hand disappeared under the skirt. A moment later she tensed up before going back to thrusting, his fingers rolling around her swollen nub. The effect was instantaneous, and she jerked back and forth on him, using only her hips, so she wasn't moving far on him, but a lot harder. When he placed his hand on her stomach and pulled her back against him she wasn't surprised, just relieved that he was still touching her.

"So you… enjoy that," Castle whispered against her ear. He wasn't too surprised when she nodded a yes, and he nibbled at her lobe before he told her, "Then don't stop."

"Just as long as you… as you don't either Castle," Beckett replied quickly. When he suddenly made her stop she groaned in frustration, but he was then whispering something else to her, and her eyes went wide. But looking back at him she saw his shrug and realized it was up to her if she did as he'd asked. Biting her lower lip as she looked into his eyes, she was a little surprised to see him visibly shake at that, and asked, "What is it?"

Staring at her with slightly widened eyes, Castle shook his head in response, wondering if she knew how she'd looked when she'd turned to him with her hair half covering her face as it was draped over her left shoulder. He grit his teeth together then when she spread her legs even further, and he leaned against her to watch as she placed her feet outside of his as he'd asked. The second she had done that, he was pulling her back against him and cupping her breasts once more, moving again, going immediately back to the rhythm that he'd been at before stopping her. He had to fight with himself the moment he thrust back inside her, as with the way her legs were positioned, she was very tight around him. He nearly lost it, but when he began to run his palms back and forth over her nipples, her response snapped him out of it.

Leaning back fully against Castle by then, Beckett was only moving in short, quick jerks of her body. She didn't mind that, as he was providing her with the pleasure she'd felt earlier since he was the one able to move. What had her almost panting, and crying out his name, were his hands that were suddenly moving across her breasts almost desperately. He cupped them, covered them with his palms flat over her nipples, and when he began to gently squeeze them, she was fighting herself to keep from reaching the end too soon; not realizing he'd done the same as well. But like him, she just managed to get control over herself, though she knew that was only temporary as he was beginning to kiss her shoulders and back.

Cursing himself inwardly a little for the position he'd put her in, Castle wanted to kiss her badly, but instead he focused on what he could reach of her. He was ghosting his lips over her back, before reaching up to her hair. Pushing it over her left shoulder, he kissed the nape of her neck, not too surprised at the shiver that ran through her in response. His hands by then were on her abdomen, concentrating more on thrusting in her than stimulating anything else with his hands. But when he moved to the junction of her neck and shoulder on her right side, he looked over her and slid his hands up to her chest. He felt her back tense against him as he carefully rolled her nipples with his fingers, glancing at her face and seeing a little of the expression that appeared there. He bit lightly at her skin and had to take hold of her to help her regain their rhythm together as she'd gotten a little erratic, not caring that she had, just needing to make sure he was close enough with her before they lost it.

Leaning her head back on Castle's shoulder, Beckett cupped his cheek, looking out of the corner of her eye as he kissed her palm. She then reached down to his right hand that was on her breast, and drew it down between her legs, lifting her skirt to give him access. She directed him how she wanted him to move, and was breathing harder and harder as his fingers were almost sliding around her apex of her legs, making her bite her lower lip hard. "Castle…" she warned him. She only had time to do that before she was sitting up straight, crying out as her climax nearly took her breath away; back rigid in her rapture.

Holding onto her tightly, Castle was right behind her, still moving with her though the sound of their hips meeting together was a little off as they had lost their mutual pace. He didn't care though, wanting to make sure he gave her what he thought she deserved, and took what he'd wanted since seeing her in the dress. With that thought in mind, he pushed them to a second orgasm that was nearly simultaneous, as his fingers were still between her legs, and his other hand was at her breasts, rubbing and squeezing at them hard.

Beckett was a little unsure if she was reacting vocally to her second peak, but didn't think it mattered, as she could tell Castle knew what she was going through. She moved for as long as she could, her body on fire, especially where he'd been touching her, and finally she calmed down, almost collapsing back against him. The room was quiet, and she could hear his harsh breathing behind her as he hugged her to him, a move she wasn't expecting, but she appreciated it. "So…" she started to say, able to speak. "You worked out some of your… I'm going to guess suppression?"

"It's going to be one of those nights," Castle said in warning as their lovemaking had yet to calm him down.

"Oh, I think I'm ready for it," Beckett said. "I did want to at least spend a little more time with you than usual tonight," she told him as he made her stand up. She smiled as she touched her pendant and said, "We haven't been together since Wednesday night."

"That's a long time," Castle said jokingly. "And I was suppressing, as you called it, since this morning."

" _That's_ a long time," Beckett said. "But," she said, unbuttoning his shirt. "I think we can work that out."

"Is it what you want, because I'm not taking a body, I want you," Castle said seriously though he was having a hard time as she spread apart the blue striped fabric.

Beckett didn't reply to that, instead she leaned into him and kissed him deeply before he held her to his bare chest. She trembled a little at the sensation, and parted her lips for his tongue. While she was busy rolling her tongue around his, she was reaching in between them, getting his trousers opened and pushing them down before he pulled away.

"You want me naked badly," Castle said, smirking. He kissed her lips when she gave him a look, and then told her, "I want the same thing, but for you to be naked… luckily we started the process," as he pushed her dress off her hips and it seemed to almost float down to the floor.

"I think you mean you did," Beckett said, stopping him before he could make her sit on the edge of the bed. She pushed off the rest of his clothes, and as he was taking everything off to discard on the floor, she sat on the edge of the bed, holding her foot out to him when he turned to her.

"Times like this I really love you wanting to dominate me," Castle said, removing her heel before he proceeded to kiss his way down her foot to her toes. He did the same with the other foot, and when he stood up, was a little startled when she grabbed him and made him lay down on the bed on her side. He tried to touch her as she propped him up with some pillows behind his back, but when she slapped away his hands, he stopped, waiting to see what she wanted exactly. He sucked in a hard breath of air as she straddled his thighs, shaking her hair behind her shoulders as he watched. "You-" he began before she was taking his erection in her hand. "Kate…" he groaned heavily.

Smiling at his tone of voice, Beckett slowly began to stroke him, watching him carefully, as it had been some time since she'd done that for him. She leaned over after a while of watching his face contort in pleasure as she changed her pace, how hard she was holding on to him and what she touched exactly with each move up and down. She never kept things the same, wanting to make him a little unsure of what she had planned for him. What surprised her; as she looked at him; was that he hadn't seemed to remember she always did that when she was pleasuring him manually. But she guessed she couldn't blame him, they did a lot together and it became harder and harder to remember things. But her hands moved as if on their own, and she leaned over, kissing him as she took her hands off of him suddenly; deciding it was time to add something new to her technique.

Groaning heavily in response to the sudden absence of her warm, soft hands, Castle grabbed her by the shoulders as she kissed him. He kissed her back, but was so unsettled by her move that he allowed her to take over, her tongue plunging into his mouth before she moved slightly, and he grunted as he could feel her slick folds over his length. "You… fuck," he couldn't help swear as she didn't move; only stayed where she was as she stared at him. "You need to… I'm going to end up throwing you down on the bed unless-" he started to say; feeling like every muscle in his body was tensed up in his desire for her and trying not to snap.

Knowing from his tone that he was serious, Beckett quickly moved back so she could take him back into her hand again. Her action had helped her, as she was able to stroke him a little bit easier than she had before she'd lain on top of him. She watched him closely as she sat up then, seeing the same pleasure on his face as before. But that time she worked steadily on him, going slowly at first before she sped up with each up and down pass of her hand. With her free hand she touched what she could reach, moving as his body would buck up and down in response to her. When she was going as fast as she'd planned, she kept her attention on him, to make sure she knew when he was about to break. But before she could get to that point, he was suddenly reaching out, and grabbing her shoulders.

Though he had enjoyed her manual stimulation immensely, Castle couldn't take it anymore, the frustrations from the position they'd been in on the armchair and her teasing him with her body just then was too much. He almost threw her on the bed, leaving her lying on it diagonally and before she could recover from that he was literally ramming into her, groaning as she let out a kind of shriek that he knew she hadn't been able to control. "Tell me," he begged her, holding her hands down with his as her right leg wrapped around his waist.

"You know already," Beckett panted, his thrust nearly pushing her head into the headboard at the corner of the mattress. "You don't need to ask!" But when he still didn't move, instead just kissed around her aquamarine pendant, she bit her lower lip hard and finally gave up. She pulled on the back of his neck until they were face to face and she whispered into his ear, "Fuck me Rick, _please_."

The strain in his fiancée's voice as she said the word please was enough to push Castle to start to move immediately, and he began to do so, groaning in pleasure as she let out a heavy moan since he was thrusting as fast as he could. He could soon hear the bed underneath them as it had no choice to move with them, and he shook before turning his head to take her lips. As they kissed he plunged his tongue into her mouth before he curled it around hers, telling by the way her hands clutched at the back of his head that she was enjoying that. He could feel her left leg against the side of his, and he suddenly pulled away from her, making them both gasp as it was unexpected for them both.

Looking on, Beckett watched as her fiancé made her bend her knee, and she hurriedly placed her foot on the side of his knee before he could do anything else. She let out a heavy hiss as he sank back inside her, filling her deeply, and she clutched him to her tightly as she tried to deal with the sudden euphoria that rushed through her so intently.

"I can't stop," Castle whispered against her lips.

"I know," was all that Beckett said in response. She tried to tilt her hips up towards his a little more, but couldn't get them at the right angle. She looked over to her right and grabbed at the pillow there before she brought it back to try and put underneath her.

Feeling her struggle, Castle quickly stopped long enough to help her, before he was thrusting again, groaning as he was getting further inside of her, even with the way her legs were positioned on him. He kissed her hard, feeling her lips bruising his with the force of his kiss, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth as she was there to meet it with hers. They tangled around together, and he began to press harder against the junction of her legs when he was sinking inside of her, not surprised when she tilted her head up, breaking their mouths apart. He didn't mind it, and went straight to her breasts as they were moving with the rest of her body. Looking up at her as he just barely brushed his lips against her left nipple, he saw her head snap down to look at him, and he reached up to lightly fondle her other mound.

Shaking slightly as she watched Castle take her nipple into his mouth, Beckett felt there were points of her body completely on fire. Her breasts that he was both suckling at and touching, where their bodies were slamming into each other, and all the other stretches of skin where he touched her or slid against her. She was trying to control herself, trying to stop the spinning of her head, and knowing she wasn't going to be able to do it. She felt it was too soon to end things, and she reached down to try and stop her fiancé, hoping he would understand the reason when she hated him doing that to her.

When Beckett suddenly stopped, Castle did so himself, since she usually tried to stop him when she wanted them to do that, but he saw that she looked to be a little concerned. So he took her hand that was on his back, kissing her fingertips before doing the same to her palm. He went to her wrist, and instead of nipping at it, ghosted his lips over the skin on the bottom of it. He wasn't too surprised when she trembled under him, and he looked into her eyes deeply as he let go of her hand to let her cup his cheek. He wanted to ask her if he should move, but instead leaned down to kiss her, unable to help himself as the need came on to him badly. When they parted to breathe he asked, "Too much?"

"No… yes, I just… I didn't want to end things yet," Beckett said. She saw that even though he was nodding in response to that, he was incredibly tense, and she felt a little bad for making him stop. So she gently brushed her lips across his as an idea came to her. "You know, I did kind of tease you earlier."

"Well, that wasn't too bad or anything," Castle said with a shrug, clenching his jaw as the movement reminded him that he was staying in place. "Why?"

"Because if you'd like to pay me back for that, I don't think I'd have any right to protest," Beckett said, watching him to see his reaction. She cried out when it was instant, and he was making her get up on her knees, facing away from him as she was suddenly looking out the window on his side of the bed. "You-" she began to say turning back to him and trying to touch his arm.

Before she could say anything, Castle was grabbing her wrists, holding them away from both their bodies and he leaned over, saying into her ear, "You said you wouldn't protest."

"I never said that," Beckett said, suddenly finding herself regretting that as she was feeling the absence of him.

"Close enough," Castle said simply before he brushed his lips over hers. "All I want to know is will you stop me like that again? Or can we keep going Kate?"

"Keep going," Beckett said before he'd even finished speaking. "And Rick? You better fuck me again."

"Whatever you want," Castle said, though he'd been hoping she'd say that. Letting her go, he followed her down onto the bed and sank into her slowly, but that was the last time he was tender in any way. Once he was fully inside her, he was thrusting hard, trying not to risk hurting her, but knowing they were both tired of holding back anymore. He reached in between them and grabbed her breast with his hand, flicking her nipple with his thumb as she arched her back. Luckily they were in the same exact position as before, so he was getting deep inside her again, and he knew they weren't going to last long. With that thought, he put his attention on doing whatever he could to her, to make her cry out his name again.

Clutching at the back of Castle's head as he took her breasts with his mouth and hands, Beckett was thinking along the same line as he was, since she could feel the pleasure rising up inside her. She had no concept of time as he moved up to start kissing her, but suddenly her body was tensing, and it was as if she'd been punched the sensation was so abrupt. But she was soon almost screaming his name as the ecstasy took over her body and her thrusts against him became very erratic. She held him tightly to her, feeling him join her shortly after, and she could feel her name against her neck, as he'd buried his face there.

Breathing hard against her skin, Castle couldn't find it in himself to make his body stop, and let it take over, as Beckett wasn't doing so either. He wasn't all that surprised when they brought each other off yet again, but that time they were a little rougher with each other, grabbing onto one another forcefully. Finally though, he felt her stop moving and he followed suit, almost collapsing on her. He nuzzled her jaw with his lips when he'd recovered enough, and raised his head to look at her. "I never really thought you'd ask me to punish you," he commented, since she'd never taken that suggestion when he made it.

"It wasn't the type of 'punishment' I hate," Beckett said simply. "But it was effective," she said, smiling as she watched him move off of her. She got up and helped him get the bed somewhat set to rights before she lay against his side, and said, "I heard what you said."

"What did I say?" Castle asked, wondering what she was talking about.

"Ah, so you didn't mean it," Beckett said, though she was smirking. Seeing Castle's genuinely confused look, she said, "You're addicted to me?"

Sucking in a deep breath of air as he realized he'd voiced a thought he'd had since he'd bought her engagement ring, Castle said, "No, I did mean it, I just didn't want you to hear it."

"Why?" Beckett asked.

"Not sure if you want to hear that," Castle said, a little unsure of what she was thinking as he studied her while he raised himself up onto his side to look down at her.

"You said you meant it?" Beckett asked. When he nodded, she said, "What woman wouldn't want to find out they're their fiancé's addiction? Especially since it means they're that good at sex."

"So, you don't mind," Castle said slowly.

Rolling her eyes, Beckett said, "I'm pretty sure what I just said implies that." She lifted her head enough to be able to kiss him, placing her hand on his cheek as he held onto her waist. "And you know, I think I might be facing the same thing," she said once they'd managed to part and stay apart.

"Meaning?" Castle said, wanting to hear her say it.

Beckett let a long pause pass between them, wanting to tease him, before she said, "I'm very much addicted to you too. Also, I think you've ruined me for other men you realize, I don't think they'd be able to really… measure up."

"I… great, I love to hear that, because I'm pretty sure I'm only going to want to say your name, so I'm not looking to be with other women," Castle said, though he was a little self satisfied at her subtle compliment to him. "So you ruined me for other women. Great, now, I have a question."

"Okay," Beckett said, smiling at his tone before he'd said he had a question.

"Are you cold?" Castle asked, leaning over her slightly.

A little surprised he'd asked that, Beckett glanced to the window, seeing the rain still falling down the panes, and she turned back to him, a smile spreading across her lips. "I love you," she told him before answering.

"I love you too," Castle said, wondering if she hadn't gotten his hint.

"And so you know, I'm absolutely freezing," Beckett told him as seriously as she could.

Smiling at her response, Castle grabbed the sheets from the bottom of the bed as Beckett pulled him onto her. Turning to her they kissed deeply, and easily began to make love as she took him inside her. The rain was still falling against the windows as the two caressed one another while they moved together in an easy, unhurried rhythm. Their world seemed to shrink then, to only include them both and the bed as they kissed, whispering when they could to each other, neither one remembering what exactly they said later when they finally allowed themselves the warmth of the covers. But at that moment, all they wanted was the heat of one another, and to feel what they were for each other; what they would always have together.


End file.
